A Hero's Chronicles
by KooriRoninheart
Summary: Missions to do, people to kill and protect … Hatake Kakashi, Copy Ninja of the Hidden Leaf Village.
1. BETRAYER Chapter 1

**Spoiler Rating - 1 (Low) to 10 (High)**: 7 – High (Should have watched at least up to episode 136 and read through "Kakashi Gaiden" of the manga)

**Koori's Korner**: This is my first Naruto tale. I haven't read too many other Naruto fan stories so if this tale mirrors yours too closely please send me an e-mail with a link to your story and I'll remove mine. Hopefully if the idea is overdone the tale and characters are a fresh twist. Rated the tale PG-13, though in general will be PG but just in case the battles get intense, will add the 13.

There is no romantic couples, nor smut.

Most of the story will be told from Kakashi's point of view

You will have to have some knowledge of the series to understand this tale. You can also find the story on my web page. Koori

**PART ONE BETRAYER**

**Chapter One**

Hatake Kakashi, Copy Ninja of the Hidden Leaf Village was returning from a mission in Sunagakure, Village Hidden in the Sand. It had been a diplomatic mission, after the death of the Fourth Kazekage at Orochimaru's hands; the governing body of Sunagakure was desperately trying to reform an alliance with the Land of Fire. Kakashi was sure the newly appointed Fifth Hokage would be pleased with the sealed scroll he was carrying.

He kept his gait slightly below a flat out run, but faster then a jog. The hard part of his mission was over but Konoha was still in a state of emergency, recovering from the devastating attack of the Sand and Sound ninjas. Kakashi knew he was needed for another one of the many missions piling up.

As he raced along the familiar forests of his homeland, he picked up a recognizable scent. "Ah, the aroma of a teenager that doesn't have a parent to remind him to shower," Kakashi thought to himself with a smile as he altered his path slightly. The closer he got the more smells he picked up, the odor of wet dog fur and the scent of an expensive perfume. "Naruto, Kiba and Hinata," he identified them as he jumped up grabbing a hold of a tree branch and continued his travels in the trees.

Kakashi was almost to them when he picked up another scent; sulfur. He frowned as he landed on a branch and looked around to get his bearings; he quickly flipped himself up higher in the tree he was on. From his vantage point he could see lush forests behind him and to the west the welcoming faces of the Hokage that overlooked Konoha. But to the other side was the patch of barren land, called "No-Man's Land," where the village had fought against the Nine-Tails. The forest had never grown back and most villagers avoided the area. However, according to his senses that was where the genins were.

His sighed as he considered returning to his original path and delivering the letter he carried to the Fifth, but against his better judgment he continued tracking Naruto and the others. Moments later he came upon them, his approach wasn't noticed by the three below.

"Naruto, we shouldn't … Akamaru doesn't like it here." Kiba rubbed his hand across the head of the puppy snuggled against his chest.

Hinata nodded her head. "This place is taboo … too many people lost their lives here, let's turn around and hurry back to the village. We finished our mission and should report to Hokage-sama."

Naruto chuckled but there was no humor in his voice. "You two head back to the village, I'll catch up. I just want to look around." With that the teenager raced headlong into No-Man's Land. Hinata and Kiba paused, looked at each other and sighed.

"Naruto, wait!" Kiba yelled as they raced after him.

Kakashi placed a hand on his chest as he stared out across the land of burnt and broken trees. The battle that took place thirteen years ago was still etched in his mind, though at the time he had been assigned to protect the villagers and hadn't witnessed the fight up close. All would have been lost if not for his sensei … the Yondaime Hokage. "I didn't even get to tell him good-bye." Shaking himself out of his memories he continued to trail the young ninjas.

He caught up with them again when they stopped to stare at what looked like giant cracks in the burnt ground. What seemed to be crevices were truly the claw marks left behind by the Nine-Tails. Naruto was staring at his own hand with a look of disgust.

"Hey, shouldn't you three be headed back to Konoha?" Kakashi said making himself known to the three.

The three genins jumped slightly as he seemed to appear out of nowhere. "Kakashi- sensei," Hinata said bowing.

Kiba also nodded, but Naruto seemed lost in his own world. Kakashi put a hand on his shoulder. "Let's go home, Naruto." A gentle wind stirred the dust around their feet and Naruto started to turn, but stopped suddenly. He lifted his head and seemed to be sniffing the air. Kakashi did the same but sensed nothing.

"Betrayer …" Naruto growled. He glanced up at his Sensei with blood red eyes before tearing his shoulder free and racing off.

"Naruto …" Hinata whispered.

"Kyuubi ..." Kakashi thought to himself.


	2. BETRAYER Chapter 2

"Byakugan!"

Kakashi raced alongside the two genins. He glanced over at Hinata as she frantically scanned the dead forest in front of them, trying to see what only Naruto could. "Anything?"

"Nothing … I'm looking." He could hear frustration in her voice.

"You're doing fine, Hinata … any luck, Kiba?"

"Akamaru, doesn't smell anything, the sulfur makes it hard for him to pick out scents."

"Kakashi-sensei …" Hinata said softly. "When Naruto raced off, I sensed … I sensed murderous intent."

"As did I, I'm just not sure of his target," Kakashi replied.

"Sensei, I see something, there is a human in a cave less than a mile away, but it's hard to tell anything else. I'm sure that is who Naruto is going for."

"Good work, Hinata, I'll take it from here."

Kakashi increased his speed, leaving the others behind. He had to stop Naruto before the demon fox did something that Naruto would regret. He caught a flash of orange in front of him. He quickly formed a seal, "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu" a shadow clone appeared beside him. The clone went after Naruto and Kakashi continued to race toward the cave. He passed Naruto as his clone tackled him.

Kakashi didn't have the time to be as careful as he would have like to be approaching an unknown person, but he knew his clone couldn't stop Naruto in his current form, just delay him. He appeared in front of the cave and heard a gasp from within.

There standing in a crudely shaped shelter was a young woman. She stared at Kakashi for a moment before reaching for a kunai resting near her. Kakashi easily reached it first and slipped it into his pocket before moving and placing himself in front of her.

"I don't know who you are, but if you don't want to die, I'd highly suggest you don't do anything stupid and don't move."

Just then Naruto tore around the corner; his eyes still a brilliant red. "Where is the betrayer?"

"Naruto! Calm down, don't let him control you like this!" Kakashi commanded, retaining his defensive stance. An inhuman growl answered him and he braced himself for an attack.

"The one you seek is dead."

Before Kakashi could comprehend what the girl behind him just said, he was pushed aside and Naruto had his clawed hand around her throat. "How do you know?"

"I am his daughter."

"Then I shall have your life like he took my spawn's!" Her reply was cut off as his hand around her throat began to close.

"Naruto!" Kakashi's cried and Hinata and Kiba, who had caught up, echoed.

Naruto's body shuddered and in the stillness they could hear him whisper. "Get the hell out of my mind, you damn fox." When he lifted his head his eyes were back to brilliant blue. He glanced dumbly at the woman he still held in his grasp. Blood trickled down her neck from where his claws had been a moment ago.

"Naruto, release her." Kakashi said stepping forward to catch her as Naruto did as he was told.

"Who are you?" Naruto asked.

"I am the daughter of Daiki the Fox Summoner."


	3. BETRAYER Chapter 3

Kakashi studied the woman as Hinata tended to the scratches on her neck. Her long white hair was in a loose braid and curled on the mat she was resting on. Standing her hair reached her knees. She wore the ragged remains of a sleeveless dress that had been crudely patched with mismatched fabrics; its tattered modest hem reached her knees.

The shy ninja dropped her hands after securing the bandage. "I'm not a healer, but that salve should help, you should return with us and have a doctor look at it."

"I'll be fine, thank you for your kindness."

"Hyuuga Hinata, my name is … I mean my name is Hyuuga Hinata." Hinata blushed as she stumbled over her words.

"Hyuuga, ah yes I should have known by your beautiful eyes, thank you Hinata-san." The compliment made the girl blush even deeper red.

Naruto squatted down in front of the girls and stared at the stranger. Pale blue eyes stared back at him for a moment before darting off to the side. "Yes?"

"What are you doing out here in the middle of No-Man's Land?"

"Not the most tactful person in the world are you, Naruto-san, wasn't it?" A faint smile crossed her lips. "This is where my father and I lived."

"I remember Daiki-sama" Kakashi said. "I thought he died back then." Silently to himself he thought, "Or I would have tracked him down and killed him."

The woman on the mat sighed. "My father was a hero; the village never knew the truth that unfolded that day. They were quick to point fingers, they needed someone to blame and my father was an easy target."

"Blame him for what?" Naruto demanded.

"My father was the Fox Summoner … they blamed him for the Nine-Tails."

Kakashi's fingers tightened around the kunai he had taken from her earlier, surprised to find it dull to the touch, so dull in fact, it wouldn't cut anything. "When Kyuubi appeared he did so cursing your father's name, Amaya-san."

"So you remember me, do you? After all of these years …" The woman known as Amaya pulled her legs up and rested her chin on her knees, wrapping her arms around herself.

"I just wish it was for happier reasons," Kakashi's anger was evident in his words. The genins looked at him with surprise and concern. He pulled the kunai from his pocket and slammed it against the wall behind him, shattering it.

"Before you kill me, Kakashi-san, may I at least tell you the truth of what really happened those many years ago?" There was no fear in her voice or in the eyes that looked up at him.

Kakashi shuddered slightly and closed his eyes, when his visible eye opened again he had returned to his normal impassive self. "I'm not going to kill you. Your father had a chance to defend himself thirteen years ago, and decided to burn down his house and make us believe he and you, his only child, had perished."

"Stop judging him!" Amaya yelled. "He only did it to save me … it was my fault not my father's."


	4. BETRAYER Chapter 4

"It really started fifteen years ago, as you know, Kakashi-san, I wasn't the healthiest child. My father being the over-protective kind kept me pretty much housebound my entire life. To keep me company on missions he would summon me a playmate, a pretty albino fox named Hotaru.

As the years passed Hotaru became more then a summoned pet, she became my soul partner. Once father realized how deep our relationship had become he stopped summoning her. He considered it forbidden or something like that. I begged my father to let her come back, but he wouldn't listen, and one night while he was away on a mission I took his contract to foxes and signed my name to it. I had never been trained to use my chakra but Hotaru recognized it when I did my feeble summon and appeared. From that day on we hid her from my father and she stayed with me.

How was I supposed to know at such a young age that spirit animals can't stay forever in this world? When she didn't return, Kyuubi showed up and demanded for her to return. Of course the Nine-Tails doesn't just ask he destroys everything he touches.

My father knew what had happened. He demanded I return Hotaru, but by then it was too late. After destroying the contract in hopes of appeasing the Kyuubi, my father took me away. I believe he would have returned to his beloved Konoha to face whatever punishment they deemed fit if it hadn't meant leaving me alone.

For many years we traveled but eventually we ended up back here, in the dead lands of this cursed place. Here we existed until that day when a giant three-headed snake appeared in the forest. My father knew Konoha was in danger, so leaving me here he raced off to do what he could. He never returned. I eventually found him buried in an unmarked grave in the fields of honor of Konoha. I left him there and returned here.

And that's the truth of what happened that awful day. My father was a hero, the only thing he did was wrong was raise a foolish daughter."

"Amaya-san, how old were you, back then?" Hinata asked.

"I was five when we left the village." Amaya looked up at Naruto and bowed, resting her head on her hands. "I'm so sorry Naruto-sama, I had no idea Kyuubi had been trapped inside a child. Please forgive me."

Kakashi watched as Naruto stepped forward and placed his hand on her shoulder. "Kyuubi is an ass and the only one to blame for what happened thirteen years ago. He was only looking for any excuse to destroy, your father made a convenient target. I'm sorry you and your father spent the last years in exile. Please return with us to Konoha, I'm sure Tsunade-baachan would say the same."

"Yes, I'm sure Hokage-sama will!" Hinata said with a smile.

"No, my father chose for us to live here so we wouldn't forget what happened. I will remain here and, like him, protect Konoha from afar, though I do thank you for your kind words."

"Not to be rude, Amaya-san but you look as if a strong wind would blow you over." Naruto said with a disapproving look. "And you'll be alone, being alone sucks."

"I'm not as frail as I look Naruto-san, I'll be fine."

"Alright, I'm going to deliver this scroll to the Fifth before she figures out I've been delayed. You three should return at once. Amaya is no longer a citizen of Konoha, nor did she ever receive any training. She's neither friend nor foe, leave her be."

Before the genins could argue, Kakashi raced off back toward the village. As he ran his mind went over what Amaya had revealed. She could of course be lying, but he didn't notice any signs that she was.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto had caught up and was keeping pace beside him. "We can't just leave her there. She's not a ninja, she is just … just normal."

"He's right, I didn't sense any sort of chakra inside her. Just the normal living force, she's not trained." Hinata added from his left.

Kiba chuckled. "And untrained, frail woman watching over Konoha to keep us safe … with her rusty weapons … I suddenly feel a lot safer."

"She's an adult," Kakashi said. "Would you have the Hokage declare her a missing-nin? It's best we leave her where she is, she means us no harm and humans rarely tread where she lives. Oh and Naruto, stay away from here. Next time there may be no stopping Kyuubi."

Naruto frowned, clearly unhappy but he finally nodded. "Yes, Sensei."


	5. BETRAYER Chapter 5

Kakashi finished his report of his travels to Sunagakure in the Wind Country as well as what had transpired in the No-Man's Land. The Fifth looked at him for a moment and nodded. "I believe you made the right decision, Kakashi. Amaya was never trained, so she knows none of our secrets. She was just a child, so even if her story is true there is no way I could justify any sort of punishment."

"Hokage-sama, I never laid eyes on Amaya when she was young. Her father pretty much kept her locked up. But I was wondering if as a medical ninja he ever consulted you about her condition?"

"Yes, I visited the child a few times … but there wasn't much I could do for her."

"What exactly was wrong with her?"

"She was born with deformed legs. There was nothing anyone could do." Kakashi let out a small gasp. Tsunade looked up at him. "What is it?"

"The Amaya I met had two very beautiful shaped legs that worked just fine. Is it possible in their travels they found a medical ninja with more skills?"

"More skilled in the medical arts then I am?"

"Damn it," Kakashi turned to leave but the Fifth stopped him with a wave of her hand. "I said we were done with Amaya. Here is your next mission, please leave as soon as you are ready."

As Kakashi was leaving he caught the glimpse of an ANBU entering the Hokage's office. "Damn it," he whispered again but then shrugged. He had a mission to attend to.

_An hour later …_

A masked ANBU stood in front of Tsunade, "When we got to the cave Kakashi spoke of, it was empty. We have been unable to pick up any trace of where Amaya went, we'll continue looking but her scent ends at the mouth of the cave."

Tsunade nodded. "Is there anything else?"

"We found this laying on ground." The ninja held out a forehead protector with the emblem of a leaf on it. In the metal was the scratched the single word. _"Hero"_


	6. PART TWO Lightning Vs Stone

_I totally forgot I posted this tale here, instead of doing individual chapters for the next four parts done, I posted them in "Parts" otherwise I'd be here all night doing the chapters. Hope you enjoy! K_

**PART TWO Lightning Vs. Stone**

**Chapter One**

The rising sun reflected off the memorial that listed the names of those that had been killed in action, Hatake Kakashi sighed at the newly engraved names. It had been six months since they had lost the Third and many other brave shinobi.

"Well, Obito, I should really get going. The Fifth is keeping all us jounins, chunins and genins hopping, I'm actually starting to miss being sensei to those three. Did I mention that all of my students are now being taught by one of the Legendary Sannins? Of course one of those being Orochimaru, we've been searching for his and Sasuke's whereabouts but without much luck, the snake has slithered back into his hole." Kakashi sighed and rubbed the back of his head. "Then there is Sakura, I saw her the other day she's already looking more confident and stronger then that day I left her at the gate to search for her teammates. You would like her; she reminds me a lot of Rin. And then there is Naruto, the village sure has been quiet since he left to train with Jiraiya, I hope he's doing his best."

A scent in the wind warned Kakashi he wouldn't be alone much longer. "Alright, I'm off, before I have to figure out another lame excuse why I'm late to the Fifth. Chat with you again soon, Obito."

He bowed slightly toward the monument before turning to face Uzuki Yugao. "Good morning!" He said cheerfully.

"Good morning, Kakashi-sempai, you're looking exceptional today." Before Kakashi could reply she continued. "Exceptionally exhausted, perhaps its time to ask the Fifth for a day off so you can catch up on your sleep?"

Kakashi frowned beneath his mask. "We don't get days off, and I've had all the rest I need. Say hello to Hayate for me."

As he made his way back to the village, Kakashi pulled out a soldier pill from a small pouch and slipped it into his mouth. He knew it was stupid and that the side-effects would eventually catch up with him but he just couldn't bare the thought of those nightmares coming back. There are certain demons even he could not fight.

He passed Shizune as he walked into Tsunade-sama's office; the poor woman looked more frazzled then usual. The Hokage looked up as he entered; it seems he wasn't the only one suffering from the lack of sleep. He bowed and waited.

"Ah, Kakashi, glad to hear your mission went well, I'm sorry to have to send you out again so soon but I have an urgent mission."

"Aren't they all," Kakashi thought to himself.

"Two weeks ago I sent a chunin to assist a small village that seemed to be under attack by some bandits. It should have only taken a couple days at most, I'm not one to undermine my ninja's skills but have grown concerned and wish for you to go and check the matter out."

"Who is the Chunin?"

"Nara Shikamaru"

"Isn't Asuma a better candidate?"

"He's too close to situation, could be Shikamaru is just taking his normal lax route, but …"

Kakashi nodded. "Understood, I'll go and check the situation out if it looks like Shikamaru has things under control I'll leave him be."

"Thanks, here are the details of the mission. I'd like to hear back from you in forty-eight hours."

"Will do," Kakashi bowed and left to prepare for the trip.

**Chapter Two**

Kakashi arrived at the village that Shikamaru had been sent to before noon. He kept himself hidden in the trees and for the moment just watched. It wasn't much of town, just a dozen of huts set up next to a stream. According to the mission notes the cave nearby was mined for silver and thus the reason it had become under attack. It didn't take too long to realize something wasn't right. "Where is everyone?" Kakashi thought to himself.

He slipped into the village, staying in the shadows, the houses were deserted. Though, the dirty dishes found in a few still had moist scraps on them which means they had been used recently. Once back into the safety of the surrounding forest, Kakashi moved closer to the only other place the villagers could be, the cave.

It was there he finally caught sight of signs of life. Three small children were hunched over a pile of dirt, their bare hands scratched and bloody as they searched through it. From the grime their small fingers would pull out flashes of silver and drop then in a nearby bucket.

Kakashi frowned and looked around for an adult; there were none to be seen. "They must be in the mine," he thought to himself. He revealed his left eye for a moment and looked around with his Sharingan, then slipped the cover back over. "I'll have to risk it." He appeared behind the children and tapped one on the shoulder. "Hello!" He said cheerfully.

The two boys and one girl looked at him with panic stricken eyes but didn't utter a sound.

Kakashi pointed to his forehead protector. "I'm looking for someone who has a headband like mine, have you seen him?"

The children's eyes darted toward the cave and back to Kakashi.

"He's in there is he?"

A small hand grabbed his arm. "Don't go in there, the rocks ate Shikamaru-sama they eat you too."

"The bad ones will hurt you," said another somberly.

"Bad ones, huh … do the bad ones wear a headband like mine?"

"Sort of … it looks different."

In the words of Shikamaru this mission had suddenly become troublesome. "Are there other people in the cave with the bad ones?"

"Mommy and Daddy," the girl said with trembling lip.

"Mine too," the others said. "And Grandma, Grandpa, Auntie …"

Kakashi cut them off with a wave of his hand. "Okay I get it, I promise to help your families but I need you three to stay here and be brave a little longer. How many bad guys are there?"

"Two, Saburo-sama and Kenji-sama ..."

Kakashi sensed someone approaching and quickly disappeared, reappearing in a nearby tree. Behind the shroud of leaves he watched as a man walked out of the cave, he was wearing the sign of Iwagakure, the Village Hidden in the Rocks.

"What the hell are you brats chattering about out here?"

Kakashi held his breath. "Nothing, Saburo-sama," the girl said meekly as she picked through the dirt. "I thought I saw a puppy."

As the Rock Shinobi knelt down beside the children Kakashi formed a seal. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu" he whispered as two shadow clones appeared beside him.

"You know what I do with puppies I find," the ninja said as he lifted the girl up by the back of her shirt. "I drown them." He took a step toward the river but was cut off by one of Kakashi's shadow clones.

Before he could react the clone snatched the child away and place her behind him.

"You tree loving bastards just can't keep your nose out of other people's business, can you?" The shinobi snarled as he pulled a kunai out. "Well, if that shadow trash is anything like you, this should be a brief fight."

Kakashi was relieved to hear the foe say "is anything" instead of "was anything" which meant this was still a rescue instead of a recovery. He watched the scene unfold below as he sent his second clone down; it sunk into the ground and disappeared.

His first clone stared at the other and with a flick of his wrist sent a dozen shurikens flying toward the earth ninja.

"Doton! Doroku Gaeshi!" A wall of dirt rose up and blocked the attack. "You didn't really expect that to work did you?"

"No, not really," answered the second clone who's arms were wrapped around Saburo's legs, the rest of his body still buried in the ground. Attached to Saburo's pants was a burning explosive tag. With a grin the clone let him go as he pulled himself out of the ground. Grabbing the two boys that were still close, it disappeared into the trees as the explosion went off.

When the dust cleared, both of his clones had vanished with the children. Out of the rubble a voice growled. "You didn't really expect that to work did you?"

**Chapter Three**

As Saburo came into view Kakashi could see pieces of rock falling off his body, he had made a shield from stone to protect himself much like Gaara used sand to do the same.

"You didn't really expect that to work did you?"

Kakashi revealed his Sharingan and noticed a second rock shinobi using camouflage concealment near the cave's mouth. Having everyone in that cave was bad, it gave the rock ninjas too much of an advantage. "Shikamaru would come in useful," he thought to himself.

Biting his thumb to draw blood, he formed seal and placed his hand down on the branch and in a low voice said, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu" Pakkun appeared. "I need you to sneak into that cave while I keep the two of them busy. Find Shikamaru and help him escape if possible."

The small pug nodded.

"Doton! Retsudo Tenshou!" The ground beneath them started to shake and Kakashi flipped out of the tree before it sunk into the large crater created by the Splitting Earth Force Ninjutsu.

Unperturbed he tossed a single kunai toward the hidden ninja, Kenji, who caught it. "Careful, brother, this one is stronger then the brat."

"So the tree-huggers decided we were worthy of some real attention?" Saburo said with a grim smile.

"Actually, you two were a rank B mission."

"I'll squash you!" Saburo bent down and planted his hands in the ground. "Doton! Doryo Dango!" He tore out a giant chunk of dirt and lifted it over his head, controlling it with his chakra.

Kakashi quickly formed a seal, he was glad the river was close. "Suiton Suiryuudan no Jutsu A Suiton" A giant water dragon appeared out of the river and crashed down on the other and the land he held. "Guess what happens when water and dirt mix."

Saburo was covered in a heaping pile of mud. The Sharingan picked up movement coming from the left he quickly formed another seal and substituted himself with large rock that had been uprooted earlier. So when Kenji slammed his fist into his likeness not only was Kakashi a safe distance away his foe's hand smashed into solid rock.

Kakashi's hand trembled slightly as he drew out another kunai and attached an explosive tag to it, the soldier pill he had taken this morning was supposed to have lasted three days. However, prior strain plus the stamina it took to use the Sharingan was using up his reserves, he would have to end this battle quickly if he had any chance.

Leaping up he tossed the kunai into the air. "Kunai Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" The one became many raining down on the brothers. One summoned the same earth wall as earlier and his kunai were stopped as he expected. He detonated one of the tags which in turn caused the others to ignite.

As explosions went off around him he concentrated his chakra until it appeared as a blue glow in his hand, the Raikiri. He charged in before the dust settled and wasn't surprised to see the brothers encased in rock. His Lightening Cut, easily passed through the rock armor and beyond to the flesh that lay beneath. The dying scream of the other pierced through the battle sounds.

Kakashi let his target fall, the rock armor crumbled off to reveal the face of Saburo. His Sharingan caught movement to his left but his exhausted body was too slow. A rock covered fist stopped, brushing his cheek. Kakashi looked into eyes that had both hatred and shock.

"Kagemane no Jutsu, complete."

**Chapter Four**

Kakashi stepped back and glanced over to where Nara Shikamaru stood, his hands clasp together in a seal that kept the surviving Rock Brother, pinned. Shikamaru and Kenji's shadows entwined giving him the ability to control the other. At Shikamaru's feet was Pakkun, the little pug spoke up.

"They had trapped him into the cave wall, far away from any sort of light. I managed to dig him out."

"And I thank you, Pakkun, these two were most troublesome."

Shikamaru sounded as exhausted as Kakashi felt; he dared not to think what the young chunin had gone through the past two weeks, though at a glance he looked uninjured.

"Kakashi-sensei, I'm sorry for the difficulty I caused. They threatened to cause a cave-in and crush everyone if I tried anything and …"

Kakashi waved his hand dismissing him. "I'm sure you tried your best. Let's just finish this."

Suddenly the ground beneath them began to shake and Shikamaru lost his footing freeing Kenji from his shadow grasp. On the ground Saburo gasped, "You didn't really expect that to work did you?" Then his eyes rolled up and death came.

Kakashi cursed and was moving before the dust settled. He snagged Shikamaru and leapt out of the way into the nearby trees. "Get the villagers out of that death trap; I'll handle the last one." Kakashi ordered as he turned forming a seal. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu" two shadow clones appeared and the three of them landed in front of Kenji.

In unison the three of them made a complicated seal, "Suiton Suiryuudan no Jutsu A Suiton" A trio of giant water dragons appeared and crashed into Kenji pushing him into the water and down river. Kakashi and his clones followed racing across the water. His first goal was to get some distances from the cave and his second goal was to survive

Ahead he saw Kenji pulling himself out of the river. Kakashi and his clones attacked, a large rock crashed into one of his clones but the other and he made contact. He aimed for the neck with a kunai hoping it might be a weak spot, but the blade snapped against a rock barrier that appeared. He wasn't quick enough to get out of the way before a rock covered fist slammed into him. His second clone vanished in a puff as smoke as Kakashi crashed to the ground.

He struggled to stand; a sharp pain in chest told him some ribs were cracked. "Damn it."

Rock wrapped around his legs pinning him. He looked up at the brute in front him. "I'm going to crush you! One bone at a time!"

Kakashi muffled a scream as the rock around his foot contracted crushing one of his toes. The rock barrier continued to climb up his body; it would soon be above his waist.

Kenji let out a dark laugh, "and now for the second toe."

Kakashi flinched as a second toe was crushed, if he didn't think of something fast this was it and after he was dead the rock ninja would go after the village and Shikamaru again.

"Kakashi-san! What the hell are you doing get up!"

He stared blankly at the woman that had appeared in-between him and Kenji. Concerned light blue eyes stared at him. "Who … Amaya?" He hadn't seen the daughter of the Fox Summoner in half a year, she looked exactly as she had the last time.

"Kakashi-san, what is wrong with you?"

Kakashi wrapped his arms around her so the jagged rocks thrown their way mostly hit him, but she gasped as one sliced into her arm. "Amaya, I don't know what the hell you are doing but run away, I'm exhausted there is no way I can save myself let alone you."

"Is that all?" She said taking his hands in hers.

Kakashi stared at her dumbly as the rock continued up his body; it was past his waist now. Behind them he could only watch as Kenji approached with a nasty smile on his face. "I'll take good care of your girl-friend, don't worry."

"Kakashi what is mine is now yours," Amaya whispered. And suddenly his chakra felt as if it had been rejuvenated a thousand times over.

The young woman in front of him went limp and he caught her. Using just his chakra the rock around him shattered. Gathering Amaya up, he quickly put some distance between them and Kenji. Laying her down on a branch out of harms way he took a moment to study himself, his chakra was visible much like he used his Raikiri or like Naruto when the Nine-Tails took over.

He glanced down at the still Amaya how … what did she do? He didn't have time to figure it out; there was a more pressing matter to attend to according to the rumbling of the ground.

Kakashi charged back toward the battle with a smile, he wasn't sure how long this newly found strength would last but he was going to use it for all it was worth.

As Kenji came into view Kakashi didn't slow down, with minor concentration Raikiri appeared in his hand. He couldn't believe how powerful he felt at this moment; this had to be what Naruto felt like when he tapped into the Nine-Tails. He slammed into Kenji and flipped away, his attack cracked the rock exterior the other had summoned. He quickly called upon a second Raikiri and struck the same spot, blood spurted out of Kenji's mouth. Once again Kakashi spun away into the air and formed a third Raikiri. The third attack tore through the rock shinobi leaving very little that could be identified later.

Afterwards Kakashi stood in the middle of the devastation; he was a bit shocked that after triple Raikiri he wasn't even breathing hard. Though, his chakra was no longer visible, meaning this was a temporary blessing.

Kakashi backtracked to where he had left Amaya and was surprised to find her gone. "Damn it, I don't have time for this! Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" His blood summoned Pakkun once again. "Find her," he growled.

Pakkun looked up at him. "Find who?"

Kakashi pointed to the blood left behind. "Find her!"

Pakkun sniffed the air looking thoughtful. He sniffed Kakashi a few times then jumping down walked around the tree. "Your scent and hers are mixed arriving here but her scent does not leave."

"What are you saying she just vanished?"

Pakkun shrugged. "There is a new scent here, should I follow it?"

Kakashi nodded and the two of them raced off. A short time later he caught the sight of something white in the shrubs below; it was here that Pakkun stopped.

Approaching cautiously he uncovered the still body of a white fox. Kakashi sighed at Pakkun. "You were looking for a human, not a date!"

"She's hurt."

Kakashi looked closer and noticed her left front leg had a deep gash in it. "Probably some hunter's trap, her white fur would be quite the prize. Oh well, Pakkun, looks like Amaya disappeared again. Thanks for the help, you're dismissed."

"Take the fox with you," Pakkun said.

"Excuse me? I'm not a vet, let nature take its path."

"Take the fox with you," Pakkun said again before vanishing in a puff of smoke.

Kakashi stared down at the fox that lifted her head and looked at him with two pink eyes before closing them once more. The ninja sighed and took off his jacket; he carefully placed the fox on it and then after bandaging the cut seeping blood onto its ivory coat the best he could, wrapped the vixen up and headed back toward the village and Shikamaru.

**Chapter Five**

"Kakashi-sensei, are you okay?"

Kakashi chuckled dryly as he limped beside Shikamaru. "I have a least two cracked ribs and that many broken toes. But I've been in worse shape."

The chunin pointed to the fox strapped to the other's back. "What's up with the vixen?"

"Ask Pakkun." Kakashi looked over his shoulder at the silent white fox, it had been over twelve hours since he had found her and it had not awakened. He wondered if the cut had become infected from whatever trap she'd been caught in.

Kakashi stumbled; Shikamaru quickly moved in front of him letting him use his shoulder as a brace. "Perhaps, we should have waited longer at the village until you recovered."

"Promised the Hokage I'd report back before nightfall today, we're already going to be late. Maybe you should go on ahead."

"Like hell, I'd carry you back before I deserted you." Shikamaru said wrapping Kakashi's arm around his shoulder so he could be used as a crutch.

Kakashi grinned and the two of them continued their slow trek. The sun had long since set before the welcoming gate of Konoha appeared. The guards Hagane Kotetsu and Kamizuki Izumo ran out to meet them. Izumo took over as Kakashi's support and sent Shikamaru to report to the Hokage.

"Let's get you to the hospital, Kakashi." Izumo said.

"First I need to go to Inuzuka Hana's."

"The veterinarian? Why?"

Kakashi gestured to the silent bundle on his back. "I have a patient for her."

"I'll bring it to her after we get you to the medical-nins." Izumo said.

"I'm not that bad off, I'll walk there myself."

"Stubborn ass," Izumo grumbled as he adjusted their path.

A short time later they stood inside Inuzuka Hana's clinic, Kakashi watched as she carefully looked over the vixen he had brought.

"It's very rare to see an albino fox, no wonder the hunters were after her. Though surprised they used traps that would harm her. She's worth more alive then as a coat. The cut is seems to healing, she should have woken up by now. She may just lack the will to live. In that case there is nothing I can do, I'll monitor her."

Kakashi nodded and watched her move the fox to a crate. "Okay, can I now bring you to the hospital?" Izumo pleaded at his side.

"I don't think … I can." Kakashi said as his legs buckled. The last of his reserves were gone, darkness descended on him as he passed out.

**Chapter Six**

"_In the world of Tsukuyomi I control space and time. The pain is not fake … seventy-two hours of pain …"_

Kakashi woke up in a cold sweat; his eyes darted around an unfamiliar room.

"Where am I?" he mumbled.

"In the hospital, Kakashi-sensei," Sakura replied appearing at his side. She used a cool washrag to wipe the sweat from his brow. "You've been unconscious for two days. Hokage-sama repaired your broken bones but you had extensive damage to your charka system. She's kept you in a medical coma while she and the other medical-nins repaired it."

Kakashi nodded as his pulse returned to normal. He glanced around the room to get his bearings. His face was half-covered with a soft white mask, giving the medical-nin easier access to his mouth but keeping his face covered like normal. Another bandage was loosely wrapped around his head to shield his caregivers from his Sharingan.

"Sensei, when I walked into your room a moment ago you were talking in your sleep. Is everything okay?"

He nodded. "Just some old nightmares, hopefully I wasn't babbling the entire two days."

"No, you were quiet when in the coma."

"Did you help in my care, Sakura?"

The young girl blushed. "Yes, mainly just gathering items that the medical-nins were asking for. Though Hokage-sama did show me a few things."

"Oh great I was a study case," Kakashi thought to himself with a smile.

"You should get some more rest, Kakashi-sensei."

"Could I have a glass of water, first?"

Sakura nodded and glanced around the room. She frowned when she found an empty pitcher. "I'll be right back, Sensei."

After she had left the room, Kakashi sat up slowly. His chest felt stiff but didn't hurt. He turned so his legs hung off the edge of the bed, his toes felt the same … a bit stiff but no longer crushed. Pushing off the bed he went to stand but his legs folded.

His fall was stopped by a strong arm wrapped around him; he looked up into the angry eyes of the Fifth. "Kakashi, you'll be lucky to be able to move in a week. Now get back in this bed and don't make me tie you down, because I will."

Kakashi allowed himself to be lifted back into the bed. Sakura walked back into the room with the pitcher now full and a glass. She glanced between her two sensei and then walked over to the other side of the bed, pouring some water into the glass which she handed to him.

His hand shook but he managed to get a couple of sips before Sakura steadied the glass for him to drink a bit more. She helped him lay back she and glanced over at Tsunade who gestured toward the door indicating the young girl should leave the two of them alone.

After Sakura left, the Fifth took his hand in hers. A soft green glow emitted from her palm and she pressed it against his wrist, he felt a tingle through out his body. "Your chakra system took some damage I haven't seen anything like it; would you care to explain what happened?"

Amaya's face came to Kakashi's mind. He glanced behind Tsunade then looked her in the eyes and truthfully replied, "I don't know. I hadn't been sleeping well and was popping soldier pills like they were candy; I probably just over did it."

"Probably?" Tsunade rested his hand on his chest, but kept hers on top of it. "Hatake Kakashi, you are one of the best jounin. I, no Konoha need you … you can't do stupid genin stuff like this. For now you rest, I'll check back in a couple of days and see how you are doing."

Long after the Hokage had left Kakashi laid awake staring at the ceiling. "What the hell did happen? And where did that power come from?"


	7. PART THREE – Unwelcome Guest

**PART THREE – Unwelcome Guest **

**Chapter 1**

Hatake Kakashi awoke to the feeling of being watched. He opened eyes expecting to find Sakura or another medical-nin hovering over him as they had the past couple of days but at first glance the room was empty. Years of training told him otherwise. "Who's there?"

His eye darted around the room but saw nothing, as he reached for the bandage that covered his Sharingan two white ears appeared at the end of his bed followed moments later by the rest of a small furry face.

Kakashi blinked and lowered his hand. "Oh, so it's you … what are you doing here? Did

Hana bring you?"

The pink eyes blinked at him and the fox pulled herself fully onto his bed. He glanced around the room, this was a wild animal, and he probably shouldn't be just sitting here half naked.

"So, you're looking good … um did Hana treat you well?" Kakashi asked looking through the drawer of the table beside him for a kunai or something to defend himself, just in case.

"She fed me dog food."

"Of course she fed you dog …" Kakashi's voice trailed off and he jerked around. "Did you just talk?"

"Excuse me, Kakashi-san," said the young medical-nin that had walked in the room. "Did you need something?"

Kakashi glanced around the room; it was empty except for the two of them. "Um, wasn't there a fox here a moment ago?"

The other raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything.

"A white fox … that talked?" Kakashi blushed as a look of concern crossed the medical-nin's face. "Maybe, I'm still not feeling well." He suggested meekly.

A few hours later Kakashi was walking through the streets of Konoha on his way to his apartment for another two days of mandatory bed rest. Luckily, the bizarre tale of the talking fox hadn't deterred the Hokage from releasing him from the hospital, but she was insistent that he head straight home and rest.

He glanced over his shoulder and said to the ANBU trailing him. "Don't you guys have more important things to do then baby-sit me?" He stopped at the door to his apartment building. "I'm here now, you can report to Tsunade-sama I'm following her orders."

Kakashi chuckled as his shadow disappeared to do just that. A couple moments later he opened the door to his small one room apartment, he quickly hid the look of shock of finding the small white fox sitting on his neatly made bed.

"Welcome home," she said.

A sigh escaped him as he walked into the room and shut the door. He removed his forehead protector and looked at the fox with both eyes. The Sharingan picked up no sort of illusion or other trickery. Rubbing his eyes he sat down beside the fox and stared at her. A pair of pink eyes gazed back at him. "You're talking to me again, aren't you?"

"Would you prefer me to be silent?"

"Yes, I like it when animals don't talk."

"Pakkun speaks." The fox replied.

"He's different … he's been trained to speak. It took him years to learn." Kakashi flopped back on his bed, he foot brushed against the fox. "Off the bed."

The vixen hopped down and walked around his room sniffing. "Hey if you need to go, you best go outside."

"One small bed, no mate then?"

"Yes, that's correct. Now I'm under orders from the Hokage to get some sleep. I can't do that with a talking fox in my room."

"As you wish, Kakashi-kun."

Kakashi opened his eyes and looked around, his room was empty. "Maybe I am going crazy," he thought to himself and he stood up to disrobe and then crawl back into bed. "A good night sleep would come in handy right now." He closed his eyes and prayed for peaceful slumber.

He awoke screaming, the room was dark, and his chest burned from imagined sword thrusts. He went to wrap his arms around himself but instead found them grasped to soft fur. Instantly awake he opened his eyes to find the white fox laying on him.

"You're trembling, Kakashi-kun."

Kakashi shoved her; she flew off with a yelp and crashed into the bookshelf. "Damn it!" He reached under his pillow and grabbed the kunai he kept there and tossed it after her.

Shaking he stood and turned the light on, the kunai was buried in the wall by the over turned books but once again the room was empty.

**Chapter Two**

Kakashi placed the last book back on the shelf and looked around his room with both eyes. Frowning he bit his thumb formed a seal and placed his hand on the floor, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

Pakkun appeared. "Shouldn't you be resting?" He scolded.

"The fox from the other day, is it here?"

Pakkun glanced around the room. "Yes," he answered.

Kakashi sighed and sat down on his bed. "I knew it, why can't my Sharingan see it?"

"That eye of yours doesn't see everything," the small pug replied.

"Where is it?"

"She wants to know if you plan to harm her any more." Pakkun glanced at Kakashi with a look of disapproval.

"No … I just want to know why she's here."

"Because Amaya asked for me to be," the fox replied, appearing at his feet.

"Amaya …" Suddenly the pieces fell into place.

"_To keep me company on missions he would summon me a playmate, a pretty albino fox."_

"Hotaru?"

The pug at his feet vanished as the fox nodded. "Guess you're not that dense after all, though it took you long enough."

"What are you doing here? Where is Amaya? What the hell did she do to me?" Kakashi demanded.

"I already told you, I am here because Amaya asked it of me. She's safe and resting, and she apologizes, she didn't know infusing your chakra with her own would cause you harm as you know she never received any training on how to use it properly … she panicked."

"Wait … wait, what chakra? She didn't have anything like that power six months ago."

Hotaru chuckled. "That eye of yours doesn't see everything." Repeating what Pakkun had said moments ago.

Kakashi shook his head. "No, not possible … Hinata said the same and her eyes see far more then my own."

"Believe what you want, I don't care to prove anything." The fox jumped up on the bed beside him and curled up at the foot. "We both could use some rest, you can badger me more in the morning."

Kakashi clenched his hands to stop from choking the conceited vixen. He raised his hand, "I told you off the bed."

"You told Pakkun you wouldn't strike me." She said without opening her eyes.

Taking a deep breath he picked her up and unceremoniously dropped her on the floor. "I don't care if you were the Nine-Tail himself, you'll sleep on the floor."

Darting quickly to his bed, she snatched a blanket and pulled it off onto the ground. She curled up on it and shut her eyes. Kakashi shook his head and flopped back onto his pillow. "In the morning you and I are having a talk."

"As you wish, Kakashi-kun."

**Chapter Three**

Kakashi spent the night resting without sleeping; he'd gotten quite good at doing so the past months. Ever so often he'd raise his head and glance over at Hotaru, who seemed to be in a deep slumber. The bandage on her front leg was gone and he could see no signs of a cut.

The first rays of sunlight were coming in his window when he sat up. At his feet the fox also got up and stretched, yawning wide. Afterwards she sat down and looked at him expediently. Kakashi, wearing his boxers stepped around her to his footlocker and took out a clean set of clothes.

"I'm headed to the showers, can you please stay here?"

"I thought your Hokage said two days of bed rest?"

Kakashi sighed. "I'm starving and I'm sure you are too, please just give me fifteen minute of privacy."

"As you wish, Kakashi-kun."

Shutting the door to his apartment after double-checking she was still visible and sitting on the floor he made his way down to the showers. It was still really early and the showers were quiet. He removed his clothes and gladly stepped under the steaming water coming from the showerhead.

Afraid to take too much time he quickly washed and dressed. He was pulling his mask up over his face as he stepped out in the hall, Hotaru was waiting for him. Kakashi just shook his head and walked back to his room with the fox trailing behind him. After locking the apartment the two of them went to the kitchen to see what Kakashi could find for breakfast.

"So what do you like for breakfast, Hotaru-kun … eggs, bacon, mice …?" Kakashi asked as he rummaged through the refrigerator.

"I'm a vegetarian." She replied sticking her head under his arm and snagging an apple off the shelf.

"Of course you are … a vegetarian speaking fox." He grabbed a couple bananas and apple himself. One of the bananas he peeled and offered to the other.

"Itadakimasu," she replied, taking it from him.

Once they had finished their small breakfast, Kakashi filled a bowl full of cold water which Hotaru drank. Afterwards he headed to the front door and was cut off by the fox.

"You're supposed to be resting."

Kakashi bent down and snag her by the cuff of her neck. Holding her off to the side he opened the door and stepped outside. "If I stay inside any longer I'm going to go crazy, animals will start speaking to me."

After he set her back down she walked along side him. They passed a few merchants already about but for the most part the streets were still deserted.

"I need to go somewhere real quick then we'll find a quiet place to have our talk." Kakashi said as he led her to the K.I.A. monument.

Hotaru sniffed a forehead protector resting against the memorial. "That's Daiki …"

"Yes, the Fifth placed it there; we weren't sure where his grave was."

"Amaya will be happy."

Kakashi bowed at the monument and then motioned for the fox to follow.

"You have a friend's name engraved, there?"

"Many," he answered.

He led her to a quiet grove away from the village, a place he would come to when he had a spare moment to read and get away. It had been months since his last visit. Sitting down he rested against a tree, feeling slightly tired but no more then what had become the norm. On instinct he reached for the pouch of soldier pills he carried.

Hotaru grabbed the bag out of his hand with her mouth and dropped it on the ground. "No more."

Kakashi sighed and left it where it landed. "Okay, you promised to answer some questions for me."

"I promised you could badger me, I didn't say I'd answer anything." The fox sat down in front of him.

"Fair enough, okay I know Amaya asked you to be here with me, but why? I don't need a babysitter or a pet."

"Does Pakkun question what you ask of him?" Hotaru answered. She continued before he could reply. "I'm not even sure Amaya likes you Kakashi-kun, you are part of a moment she wishes to forget. And I am also not sure if I am here for your protection or my own. Or for another reason all together, I was told to stay at your side until she summons me so that is what I am going to do."

"Bring me to Amaya-san."

"I cannot."

Kakashi fell quiet for a moment, closing his eyes. "What were you and Amaya doing by the river that day?"

"After we were chased from the dead lands, we wandered the Lands of Fire. We heard the sounds of battle that day and like the curious kit Amaya is, she followed it. I don't know exactly why she rushed out like she did, I tried to stop her but she can be headstrong. And then she risked the chakra infusion …" The fox's ears drooped slightly. "She could have been killed."

"I wouldn't have allowed it."

"I don't mean from battle." Hotaru shook herself and looked up at Kakashi. "What else do you wish to know?"

"Okay, what about you? How are you still here? Amaya said the contract with the foxes was destroyed. There wouldn't be a way for her to re-summon you."

"I never left; there was no need to re-summon."

"That's not possible; once the contracts are destroyed your tie to this world is severed." Kakashi argued.

"You do realize you are quarrelling with the very being you are swearing cannot exist?" Hotaru said with a laugh in her voice. "The contract does not form the tie for us; it only opens the doorway for us to travel through. Once the contracts are destroyed most animals choose to return to their realm, I chose not to."

"Why would you do that?" Kakashi demanded.

"For Amaya."

"You said Amaya wished for you to be here, but that day I found you injured in the forest, not the other way around. And how did you get hurt in the first place, why weren't you with Amaya?"

"You ask a lot of questions. I allowed myself to be seen that day. Amaya was in middle of a battle, my wound was from a rock kunai and I was where she needed me to be."

"Allowed yourself to be seen … that day at the cave you were there, hidden." It wasn't a question.

"Yes," she replied.

"Why didn't Kyuubi see you? And what would of happen if he had?"

"He wasn't looking in the right place and I shudder to think it. To put it mildly, my father doesn't like humans."

"Your father?" Kakashi asked.

"Yes, the Nine-Tails is my father."

**Chapter Four**

The grass around them swayed in the gentle morning breeze. Kakashi stared at the small fox sitting in front of him, she was a pest but there was no way she could be connected to the beast that almost destroyed his homeland.

"You can't be related. I've seen house cats bigger then you _**and**_ you only have one tail." Kakashi pointed out

"It takes hundreds of years before I'll grow more tails. In my father's eyes I am but a kit."

"And in my eyes?"

"You are a kit to me by a hundred years, Kakashi-kun." Hotaru said matter-of-factly.

"I can't just let you wander the village; I'll need to bring you to the Hokage. Of course she may decide you're a danger … and …" Kakashi glanced at the fox that seemed to be watching something over his shoulder. "Are you listening to me, Hotaru?"

The vixen's ears twitched but she said nothing. A moment later Kakashi picked up a scent and stood, quickly facing the same way Hotaru was. Out of the underbrush charged Akamaru, followed a moment later by his partner Inuzuka Kiba. Kakashi was surprised to see how large the dog had gotten since he last seen him, he stood at Kiba's waist.

"Kakashi-sensei, Hokage-sama asks that I escort you back to your apartment." The genin looked embarrassed and for a moment watched as Akamaru and Hotaru sniffed each other out. "Even in your current state I couldn't force you to come with me, but please … if you don't I'll have to tell her I failed."

Kakashi sighed and nodded, taking the lead back to the village. Hotaru fell in place beside him.

"That's the fox; Sis was looking after isn't it? It suddenly disappeared, yesterday. Out of locked crate, did you come for it?"

"No," Kakashi said. He reached down and scooped the fox up and offered her to Kiba. "Here you want her? She talks and everything ... she's a bit of a smart-ass, though."

"Um … sorry Akamaru is the only partner for me. Are you sure you're feeling all right?"

Kakashi nodded and set the vixen down. "I'm fine, let's hurry."

As they rounded the corner to Kakashi's apartment he saw Sarutobi Asuma leaning against the wall, around his arm was coiled a length of rope. "Ah, damn it!"

He grabbed Hotaru and jumped up on to the ledge of his window. Setting her down, he slipped inside and ran over to the door. He was stopped by two arms grabbing him from behind and wrapping around his neck.

"Please, Kakashi, don't make this any harder then it has to be." Yuuhi Kurenai said from behind. He relaxed in her grip as his door flew opened and Asuma ran in.

"Honestly, don't you two have better things to do?" Kakashi said, barely keeping his anger in check.

Asuma held up the rope. "This is your last warning, Kakashi. Next time I will use it."

Kurenai released him and the two of them walked out his door shutting it behind them.

Kakashi took his gloves off and looked over at the fox curled up on the blanket. "How come I know you find this funny?"

"I did warn you."

"What about … what I said earlier?" Kakashi asked taking off his vest and the light armor he wore beneath it.

"My life is in your hands, Kakashi-kun."

**Chapter Five**

Kakashi sat crossed legged on his bed. He was shirtless, with black pants on, his normal combat mask was replaced by a looser one. The novel in his hand was open but his eyes were on Hotaru as she paced around his room. Ever so often she would get up on her hind legs to look at something closer.

She glanced over and met his gaze. "Your den is small."

"My den … um, room suits me just fine most days. It's a place to sleep."

"Says a man who doesn't sleep," Hotaru said. She walked over to his window. "Open please."

Kakashi stood up and opened his window, the small fox jumped up and onto the ledge. "You could just use the door, you know." He pointed out.

"You have guards."

Kakashi cursed and glared at his door, he couldn't sense anything at all.

"They only do it because they are concerned about you. Be a good kit and get some rest I'll be back." The white fox disappeared off the ledge.

He debated shutting the window to lock her out but doubted that would work. Kakashi sat on his bed, staring at his book without really reading. He set it down and gracefully flipped himself off his mattress so he landed in push-up form. Placing his right arm behind his back he started doing one-handed push-ups.

He had reached number one hundred and seventy-five when he sensed his furry companion had returned. He finished two hundred before stopping and sitting on the floor. The fox came up beside him and set down the take-out box she held by its handle in her mouth. Kakashi looked at the printing on the side, "Ichiraku Ramen Bar".

"Did you steal this?" He demanded.

"No, I borrowed some money from your wallet over there. You need food to get stronger and rest … foolish kit."

"And you just walked in the bar and asked for Ramen?" Kakashi said as he took the paper wrapper off the chopsticks included.

Hotaru didn't answer and was watching his door with interest. Kakashi wasn't surprised to hear someone outside a moment later, followed by a light knock on the door.

"Come in, it's open." Kakashi called out as he picked up some noodles.

Sakura came in carrying a large brown sack. "I brought some food for you …" her voice trailed off as he noisily slurped up his noodles beneath his free-hanging mask. "Kakashi-sensei!"

He pointed to fox lying on the blanket, "She got it for me, I swear! Ask Teuchi, the owner."

"You're soaked with sweat, can't you rest like you need. I swear." She set the groceries on the desk and walked over to Hotaru. She held out her hand and after letting the vixen sniff it tenderly rubbed her between the ears. "What a beautiful creature, where did it come from?"

"She followed me home, you want her?" Kakashi looked through the bag Sakura had brought. Finding an apple he tossed it to Hotaru, who caught it with her mouth and started nibbling on it.

"Sorry, Kakashi-sensei, after my pet fish died my mother said no more pets." Sakura stood up and bowed. "I'm sorry but I can't stay, I have lessons to get back to. Please get some rest."

After she had left Kakashi went back to his ramen. He sighed. "How come everyone says the same thing … get some rest Kakashi …" He said the last part in a mocking tone.

"Perhaps, because everyone is right?" Hotaru said looking up from her apple.

Kakashi scowled at her and they finished their meals in silence.

**Chapter Six**

"_In the world of Tsukuyomi I control space and time. The pain is not fake … seventy-two hours of pain …"_

Kakashi awoke gasping for breath, the pain of the swords in his chest were replaced by a light weight as his senses came back to him. He ran his hands through Hotaru's soft fur as his heartbeat started to calm down. The fox's soft breath tickled his neck as she rested on top of him.

"You want to tell me about what haunts you, Kakashi-kun?"

"No …" he answered but continued. "It was over a half a year ago now. Two missing-nin came to Konoha … one was from this village he had killed his entire clan before leaving years ago. Uchiha Itachi, he's one of the true heirs of the Sharingan. Anyway, I underestimated him and because it got trapped in a world he calls Tsukuyomi. My mind knew it was an illusion but my body and heart …" Kakashi paused and shivered involuntary.

Hotaru looked intensely into his eyes, windows to his soul. "And what happened then?"

"I was bound, unable to use any seals and helpless to stop him. He tortured me for three days, by plunging his sword into me. Since it was an illusion the wound would heal the moment he pulled out the blade. He created thousands of me and him; I could feel each sword thrust. My chest, my legs, my arms … I can still feel the pain. I couldn't stop my screams but I didn't break until … until the third day. I was begging him to kill me just to stop the pain … I was begging him. He laughed and released me then. When I opened my eyes I was back in Konoha, and only a moment had passed here. But my body and mind were three days older. Soon after that I lost conscious and stayed that way until the Fifth freed my mind. At first things were normal but slowly the nightmares started and soon sleeping became impossible. Every time I close my eyes I'm back there, it never ends."

"Kakashi-kun, sleep, I'll hold the nightmares at bay."

He wanted to argue but his eyes still focused on her pink irises grew heavy, closing, and for the first time in a long time he had a night of dreamless sleep.

When he awoke the room was bright with sunlight, Hotaru was curled up on the blanket on the floor. She looked up at him. "Good afternoon, thought you were going to sleep the whole day away."

Kakashi got out of bed and stretched. He felt better then he had in a long while.

"Kakashi-kun, do you remember what we talked about last night?"

He pulled a shirt on over his head and nodded. "Yeah about that … um … we take emotional training … I …"

"I want you to think about that day and tell me how you feel."

"I rather not," but he closed his eyes and pictured the battle with Itachi. Though he could remember ever detail clearly it was like watching it from a far. The haunting pain both physical and psychological wasn't there. "What … what did you do?"

"Freed you," the small fox said.

Kakashi hung his head for a moment and nodded. "Thank you, Hotaru-sama."

_The following day … _

Kakashi was racing through the streets of Konoha, at his side was Hotaru. It felt good to finally be allowed to roam freely and another night of restful sleep had done his body a tremendous amount of good.

As he entered the Hokage's office she looked up from the scroll she was reading and gave him a smile. "I can tell by just looking at you, you're ready to go back on missions. And I happen to have a qualified one for you right here."

She paused and glanced down at the white fox sitting at his feet. "Oh, and who is your friend?"

Kakashi bent down and scooped the vixen up holding her close to him. "She followed me home one day, think I'm going to keep her for as long as she wants to stay."


	8. PART FOUR – Face of Evil

**PART FOUR – Face of Evil**

**Chapter One**

Hatake Kakashi was jumping from tree branch to tree branch, his now familiar white shadow of two weeks followed. Hotaru had been quiet most of the morning. Kakashi was debating if that was a good or bad thing. The vixen never seemed to shut up unless another person was close. He was on his second mission since he recovered from the battle with Village Hidden in the Rocks shinobi. The first, Hotaru had traveled with him up to the point where battle was assured and then hidden herself without being asked. Only to reappear once the shinobi he had been battling was secured.

She had been quick to point out it wasn't an act of cowardice, that she knew he could handle a few rogue ninjas and had wanted to make sure he could so with only his own back to watch.

"Cat got your tongue, Hotaru?" Kakashi asked breaking the silence.

"Just thinking to myself, only intelligent conversation I can find anywhere." The barb was said without her usually sassiness.

"What is it?"

"I don't like this mission you are on."

That caused him to pause and glance down at the fox. Kakashi had long ago stopped thinking as missions in anything more then just a job, defending, protecting, and killing they were all the same to him. This particular assignment fell in the last category, an assassination.

"The person I'm going to kill is not a nice person, Hotaru. He's done a lot of evil things."

"Evil in whose eyes?" She asked.

"In the eyes of Konoha and the city official that gave us the mission, this Yashiro Goro is the head of a band of hoods that have ruled the town by fear and killing. We can't turn our back on that; we're protectors … the strongest village of Land of Fire, it's our duty and privilege to do our best."

"I'm not one of your kits … genins. Don't patronize me like that. The man in the picture has kind eyes; I do not think he is the killer he's being painted as."

"It just means he'll smile sweetly as he slits your throat." Kakashi replied as he started the trek once more.

"Just promise me, Kakashi-kun, that you'll look deeper before you play God."

Kakashi didn't answer, because he couldn't make that promise. He had a mission to do and it wasn't to look into the politics of the town. It was to kill a man, this Yashiro Goro, make it look like a natural death and get out. The law keepers would take over after that while his crime organization was reeling from the loss of its boss.

That evening they made camp outside the city that was slightly smaller then Konoha. Kakashi sat cross legged on his bedroll. From his backpack he pulled out their cold dinner. Granola mixed with diced apples and peanuts, a loaf of hard bread and small jar of honey, Hotaru insisted he bring the last item. Cutting the loaf in half, he spread honey on both sides, and offered one to the fox.

"Itadakimasu," she said taking it with her mouth. Placing it on the ground she licked all the honey off before eating the bread beneath it. Afterwards he put some granola in his hand and she delicately ate it, when she was done all that were left were a few peanuts in his palm.

"I don't like peanuts," she told him as he tossed the nuts away.

Later Kakashi stretched out on his blanket, the vixen took her now normal spot lying down on his chest. He still insisted she sleep on the floor when they were at the apartment but didn't press the matter when they were traveling.

"No traps tonight?" Hotaru asked, referring to his ritual of setting up a few wire traps in case he had visitors when he slept.

"I trust your ears to hear them long before they get close enough."

"True enough," she replied settling down.

Kakashi did the same, his arm draped protectively across the back of the small white bundle curled up on top of him. "It's not the same as being part of a shinobi team but I'm glad for the company," he thought to himself. "As Naruto has said many times it sucks to be alone."

**Chapter 2**

Kakashi moved unseen through the streets, moving from rooftop to rooftop. According to his mission notes Goro would be at a ceremony this morning in 'honor' of all he did for the city. It was one of the few times he allowed himself to be out in the public eye; it was the perfect setup for an assassination.

The throngs below him signaled he had arrived. From his hidden vantage point he took in the scene below. There was a stage; around it was large festive crowd. At first glance he could only pick out a couple of security guards, his Sharingan didn't pick up any hidden ones.

His target sat on the stage, at his side was a slightly built woman, probably his wife. And at his feet were a couple of small children, most likely his grandchildren according to the profile included in the mission papers. Kakashi didn't like the idea of killing him in front of the children but there wasn't another alternative. He took out a small dart gun, not his usual weapon of choice but it was the best tool for this kind of work. The small dart he loaded was made of poisonous crystal that would melt the moment it contacted the warm flesh. Leaving behind its venomous contents but being untraceable. Death would come to the mark moments later; any tests done on the body would point to a heart attack.

Kakashi raised the dart gun, keeping a watchful eye on the children and others so no one would walk into the barb. Just then the mark startled as a small white buddle jumped on his lap.

"Damn it," Kakashi cursed.

He could only repeat his curses as Hotaru's arrival caused squeals of joy from the children and a hearty laugh from Yashiro Goro. The small white fox placed herself up on his chest blocking his neck from any attack. Her pink eyes found Kakashi's and he raised his index finger gesturing her to come.

Hotaru licked the face of Goro and then jumped off the stage. She was chased by the two children for a couple of feet before their Grandmother called them back. A moment later the vixen appeared at his feet.

Kakashi stared at her for a full minute trying to pick his words carefully, below him he could hear the ceremony starting. He still had time to finish his mission.

"That man is not evil, he has never killed a man nor been responisible for the deaths of others. He has no blood on his hands, I can tell by his aura. You and your village has been deceived Kakashi-kun."

The shinobi sighed and rubbed his chin in thought. Hotaru proved she could hear better then any human, there was no doubt she probably had insight to match. It was true Konoha had not heard of any trouble in this city until this mission. If this was as long-term problem as their client had said, why hadn't they heard of it before now?

Going over the mission notes in his mind again he recalled that the client was the chief of police. Glancing down at the crowd, it was easy to spot the few law enforcement officers scattered through out the crowd. The police chief was sitting on the stage on the opposite side from Yashiro Goro. He was looking out at the crowd instead of the speaker, presumably looking for Kakashi and waiting for him to fulfill his objective.

Kakashi pointed him out to Hotaru. "He's the one that gave us the mission, what vibes do you pick up from him?"

The vixen was silent for a moment and then her ears flattened against her head and she let out a small growl. "His aura is the color of blood, death follows where his feet tread."

"Well, he is a police officer, probably part of his job." Kakashi said as he put away the dart gun.

"No … if you want to kill a man, that one would not be missed."

"Well, my furry friend, you have just made this mission a failure. Hope you're happy."

"Would you prefer to have the blood of innocents on your hands?" Hotaru was still watching the scene below. "Are you going to just walk away?"

"My mission was to kill Yashiro Goro. My failure in killing him brings this mission to an end. I'll discuss what you have told me with the Fifth and see if any further actions are needed. I'm not a vigilante."

"You're going tell her, a talking fox told you not to kill him?" Hotaru looked up at him. "You leave and the gentle one will die, the other will find another means."

The crowd below them let out a loud cheer, Kakashi watched as Goro waved to the throng and made his way off the stage. The police chief watched, barely keeping his look of rage in check.

Hotaru was right, not killing him only extended his life for a day or so he was still marked for death. "Alright, I'll go speak to the man with kind eyes and see if I can gather more information before heading back."

"Thank you, Kakashi-kun."

**Chapter Three**

Kakashi looked down on a small formal garden. Yashiro Goro and his wife were having tea, only a couple of guards lazily looked on. Seems having the assassination planned during the ceremony had very little to do with security and all to do with a public execution. Hatake Kakashi hated being used.

Appearing in front of the couple, he made no move to defend himself as the startled guards reached for their weapons. Goro raised his hand, stopping the sentries from approaching.

"I can tell by your headband you are a Hidden Leaf Village shinobi, what brings you to my humble adobe?"

"I was on a mission to assassinate you." Kakashi answered truthfully.

This got a soft gasp from his wife and the guards once again had to be told to stand down as they grabbed for their weapons.

"Was?"

"My fox friend says you're not evil." Kakashi said gesturing to Hotaru that appeared at his feet.

"Ah, the white fox from earlier … now my grandchildren are begging to have one as a pet. She for sale?"

"As tempting as that offer might be …" He paused a moment when Hotaru nipped his ankle. "No, she's not for sale. Before I return to my village can you tell me why the police chief wants you dead?"

"Ah so it is Kataoka Shiro, I had my suspicions. I'm afraid I got too brazen for my own good. When my employees started to complain about brutality in the police force I decided to look into it. I hadn't found anything concrete yet, but I must have gotten close to something." Goro gestured for him to have a seat. "I've been rude; could I get you some tea?"

"No thank you, though friend here would love some." Kakashi said taking a seat and gesturing toward Hotaru.

His host raised an eyebrow but didn't stop his wife from pouring some tea in a cup and Kakashi set it on the ground, after adding a drizzle of honey. The small fox bowed and delicately darted her tongue out to sip the hot tea.

"How delightful," Goro said with a grin that didn't quite reach his eyes.

"Goro-sama, I couldn't return home without warning you of the malevolence aimed your way. However, I can't just take upon the role of bodyguard without approval from Konoha." Kakashi said.

"I'm willing to double the amount that crook paid you."

"I'm sorry …"

"How long would it take you to get this approval?" Goro pressed.

Kakashi sighed. "It took me a close to two days to reach here, so close to a week time round trip and I can't guarantee it would be me returning if your request is granted. If the whole police force is behind their chief this may be more then a single jounin can handle."

The man across from him suddenly looked older, defeated. "I understand." His wife let out a soft sob.

Hotaru looked up from her tea and in a whisper only Kakashi could hear said, "I'll bring notice back to your Hokage and return with her reply in a day's time."

"Alright," Kakashi replied. "Do you have some parchment and ink I can have, Goro-sama. I'll send my fox back to the village with a message for the Hokage. And while we wait on a reply I can stay as your guest, hopefully my presence will be enough to keep the wolf at bay. Though, once he knows I am here he'll know he's been betrayed there is no telling how he'll react."

The older man bowed resting his hands on his hands. "Thank you … thank you!"

The next hour both Kakashi and Yashiro Goro composed separate letters to the Hokage. Kakashi explained the events that had transpired leaving out the talking fox part. Goro's letter outlined the particulars of what had been transpiring as well as his financial offer of payment once the mission was complete. Afterwards Kakashi sealed both with a tag only another shinobi of Konoha could break.

Kakashi traveled with Hotaru to the edge of the city. There he tied the scroll with a ribbon around her neck. "If I don't hear from you in seventy-two hours I'm going to abandon this place. As I said before I'm a shinobi not a vigilante."

"Understood … be careful Kakashi-kun."

Bending down to rub her behind the ears he said, "Travel swiftly, my friend."

With a nod she disappeared from under his hand, his eyes couldn't follow her path. Moving back into town, while staying hidden, Kakashi went over the plan for the next couple of days. Goro's extended family might make easy targets; he would have to get everyone under the same roof. However, it seemed like he cared greatly for all his employees and as the owner of a large textile mill he had many, too many for one shinobi to keep safe, even with his Sharingan.

"Perhaps it would be easier to kill the one instead of protect the many, "Kakashi thought to himself grimly. "It's only three days maximum; surely we'll be fine for seventy-two hours."

**Chapter Four**

The following morning Kakashi watched from his perch on a tree in the garden as his host greeted another one of his relatives. At his request Goro had sent out invites to his family that lived in town. There were his children, a son and daughter with their spouses, four grandchildren, various cousins and a few in-laws. Goro had outlived any siblings and parents.

Kakashi memorized faces as they were ushered within the estates gate. Once in awhile Goro would speak in a hushed voice to one of the males who would then glance up at Kakashi and then usually shake their heads. They were not happy with the predicament they found themselves in but seemed loyal to their family bonds.

Before noon Goro reported all of his relatives had been accounted for and predictably ask about his employees.

"I'm sorry Goro-sama, I can't protect everyone and I'm not even a hundred percent sure I can keep your family safe. But until I receive word from the village otherwise I'll do my best, mission or no mission."

"I can't just shut down the mills, my employees need their salaries. I rebuilt when one of them was burnt to the ground, it was probably Shiro though he said there was no sign of arson. I always knew …"

"Did you call in more guards?"

Goro nodded. "Yes I have twenty men stationed around the wall that surrounds the estate. But they are just hired men; we don't have a hidden village here as you know. So shinobi are few and far between, though … I was told Shiro was one, once."

Kakashi nodded. "Good to know."

"What now?"

"Now we wait, entertain your guests. I'm going to keep myself hidden unless needed."

Yashiro Goro nodded. "Please don't hesitate to ask myself or my staff if you need anything, and thank you again, Kakashi-sama."

Kakashi spent the afternoon concealed in the curve of a comfortable branch of a large tree in the courtyard, flipping through the pages of his book while watching all that went on below him. The children were in one corner of the yard playing with a dog, the men were sitting together playing Go while drinking sake, and the women had disappeared into the house.

Toward the evening a commotion could be heard from the front gate. Kakashi joined the men as the entry was forced open. Four frazzled guards tried desperately to keep three others at bay. Kakashi wasn't surprised to see one of them was the police chief, Kataoka Shiro; the other two were uniformed police officers.

Goro dismissed the guards. "Good evening, officers. Can I help you?"

Kakashi made sure he could be seen but without looking confrontational.

"People noticed the guards around your gate, we were concerned and thought we would stop by and make sure everything was okay … your guards tried to stop us." Kataoka Shiro's words were directed at Goro but his eyes were on Kakashi.

"My apologies, my family is here for a celebration. I hired the extra guards to keep curious onlookers at bay. I'm afraid they misunderstood my directions when they tried to prohibit your entry, hired help these days what can you do?" Goro replied with a pleasant voice.

Kakashi's gaze moved off of Shiro and onto the other two police officers. Were they behind their police chief and his misdeeds or law-abiding? At least one of them blushed at the invasion and bowed to apologize. Shiro made no such apology but nodded curtly. The third's face was unreadable.

"I'd offer you three some sake and a game but the hour has grown late and I'm sure dinner is on the table waiting for us. If there is nothing else I'd like to retire for the evening." Goro bowed.

Shiro glared at Kakashi but returned the bow. "We were just concerned, I'm sorry for the interruption. Have a good evening Goro-sama, gentlemen."

Kakashi shadowed the threesome, unseen, until they reached the street, from the shadows he saw the police chief dismiss the other two. Afterwards Shiro stared at the now closed gate for with a look of malice before stalking off in the opposite direction. Kakashi debated following him but then decided against it, in fear that he wasn't working alone and his absence would leave the family vulnerable.

He returned to the estate after checking on the guards. That night he rested outside the bedrooms, various traps set up to warn him if anyone approached. Hotaru had promised to return by now; he had to wonder if she overestimated her speed or if her delay was for another reason.

"It's useless to wonder about what ifs," he thought to himself. "Like it or not the wheels have been set in motion now all I can do is wait."

**Chapter Five**

Kakashi awoke suddenly, something was wrong. The night didn't reveal any danger immediately but the shinobi quickly slipped into the shadows and tried to pinpoint what had set off his internal alarms. None of his traps had been triggered, a quick peek into the sleeping quarters confirmed everyone was accounted for. He moved his attention to the gates when the courtyard suddenly exploded in smoke.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" He sent the two shadow clones that appeared to guard the family as he tried to figure out what his best action was. The smoke from the bombs lingered in the courtyard causing a haze that made it difficult to see. Beyond the gates he could hear the sound of battle followed by the screams of the dying.

"Damn it," Kakashi muttered as he pulled out a kunai and leapt onto the roof of the sleeping quarters, Shiro hadn't wasted any time. He probably assumed Kakashi had sent for back up and wanted to finish off Goro before they arrived.

The smoke that drifted up burnt his uncovered eye, he was glad for the mask that protected his mouth and sensitive nose from whatever chemicals were mixed into the ash. From the vapors he saw a dozen figures slowly approaching the house. One let out a yell as he triggered a trap Kakashi had planted earlier; the near invisible wire grabbed the other around the ankle and raised him high into a tree. It was a snare meant to delay but not kill; Kakashi hadn't wanted to risk any deadly traps with the children so close. A quick flick of an enemy kunai released the trapped one.

The attackers became visible; all of them wore masks to shield their identities. Kakashi released the kunai he held, it land at the feet of the front most intruder. He made himself visible and looked down at the others from his rooftop perch.

"That is the only warning you'll get, back away now. I'm not on a particular mission to keep this family safe but if you approach I'll consider my own life in danger and react appropriately." He sensed the attack and quickly moved out of the way catching his assailant from behind; he pressed another kunai up against the throat of the other.

"Please don't kill me … he told me I could get out of prison if I helped him," his captive begged.

"Prison would have been safer," Kakashi said as he flipped the weapon his hand and sliced the blade across the leg of opponent, cutting the muscle. He let him slide of the roof and readied himself for another attack.

He didn't have to wait long; three more appeared, charging in at once. Grabbing the wrist of one and the kicking leg of another he flipped them away, while planting a foot in the chest of the third. The kick was backed by his chakra and sent his attacker flying off the roof. The two others landed and quickly reassumed their attack.

Beneath him he could hear sounds of a fight; someone had gotten to his clones. Moving with speed the others couldn't follow he slammed a fist into the face of one, the blood and sound of cracking bones indicated he had broken his nose. He followed through by grabbing the attackers arm and throwing him over his shoulder and off the roof. He glared at the third attacker who took a step back and leapt off. "Screw this."

Kakashi focused his chakra downward and blasted a hole through the roof. He landed behind one of his clones who was holding his own against two invaders. Goro and his family were huddled in middle of the room; his second shadow clone had been defeated already.

"Kakashi-sama!" Goro cried.

"I'll protect your family, Goro-sama." Kakashi said pulling out a handful of shurikens and throwing them at the two battling his clone. They dodged the attack easily but it left an opening to for his shadow clone that thrust a kunai into the chest of one of the attackers. The attacker disappeared, it had been a replica. Kakashi cursed and focused on the other but it suddenly vanished as well.

The shinobi dismissed his other clone and looked over at the family huddled together. "Is everyone okay?"

He got a mummer of replies that they were all okay, just scared. "Kakashi-sama, is it over?"

"I don't think so, they are probably just regrouping." Kakashi held his alarm in check when he smelled the first signs of smoke. "Goro-sama, gather your family up and head to the front of the house. Once I have the attention of our attackers you'll have to lead them to safety."

"Why … why can't we stay here?"

"They've set your home on fire; we don't have a lot of time." Kakashi formed a seal. **"**Henge no Jutsu!**" **The transforming jutsu turned the shinobi into the exact duplicate of Yashiro Goro. "I'll give them what they want; while their eyes are on me … you must get your family to somewhere safe. I'm sorry this is all I can do for you, it's time for you to be strong."

"We believe in you Goro!" One of his family members said. It was quickly echoed by the others.

"We've always believed in you, no matter what happens."

Kakashi nodded and then stepped outside, raising his hands in a sign of surrender. Imitating the slow gait of the one he was impersonating he walked out to the yard. "I give up, please don't hurt my family … do with me as you please but let my family go."

"Foolish, old man," one of the masked men said. The voice behind the disguise was Kataoka Shiro's. "If you had just kept your nose out of my business none of this would be necessary. What's wrong with making people pay a small 'tax' for protection? And as you can see criminals can be rehabilitated into the handiest assistants."

Kakashi glanced around; there were nine left standing including Shiro. The odds weren't in his favor, so far most had been street thugs, though the clones from earlier signed that there was at least one skilled in Ninjutsu.

Suddenly Shiro made an unfamiliar sign and Kakashi felt something wrap around his legs. Glancing down he was startled to see a vine had appeared from the ground and wrapped around his legs. The thorns materialized and buried into his flesh.

"I'm guessing you're a missing-nin from Kusagakure, Village Hidden among Grass," Kakashi said still using the voice of Goro.

"Close old man, but not quite right, there is nothing missing about me. I'm here because I was ordered to." Shiro kept his hands clasped together, in the sign of usagi, his chakra controlling the vine.

"Why … for what purpose?" Kakashi gasped as the thorns continued to tear at his flesh through his pants, creeping higher as they did.

"You sure ask a lot of questions for a dead man," Shiro said with nastiness in his gaze.

Kakashi shuddered as the thorns continued to rip at him; it was getting harder to keep the illusion in place.

"Now I have a question, where is the shinobi?"

"We never received approval of the duty to protect me; he took my family with him and left." Behind them the house was ablaze, alarms could be heard going off in the city.

"As much as I'd love to draw this out old man, sounds like we'll have company soon. The police chief will be needed." The other let out a cold laugh. "Now to wrap this up."

Just then a small white blur slammed into Shiro and he left out a cry breaking the seal. His left hand trickled blood from the bite left behind by Hotaru.

Kakashi dropped the illusion as he used a kunai to slice away the vines at his legs.

"You're late," he told her, revealing his Sharingan and moving into a defensive stance.

**Chapter Six**

"Damn it, where is old man Yashiro!"

"You don't really expect me to answer that?" Kakashi said. He glanced down at the growling fox at his feet. "So what was the Hokage's answer?"

"She said we can kick his ass," the reply came from behind Shiro.

Inuzuka Kiba stood with a hand resting on top of Akamaru. At his left was the shy Hinata and to his right was the last team member, Aburame Shino.

"Sorry we're late Kakashi-sensei," Hinata said activating her Byakugan.

"Not a problem let's finish this," Kakashi charged toward Shiro. The other three attacked as well. The grass Shinobi formed a sign and placed his hand on the ground, suddenly the blades of grass under their feet became like blades of steel. Their thick sole shoes protected them slightly but Hotaru and Akamaru who had no such protection let out cries as their paws were cut.

Kakashi scooped Hotaru up and jumped up to a nearby tree. Kiba used his Juujin Bunshin to transform Akamaru into a look-a-like of himself. Then the two of them attacked with their Gatsuuga and tore up both their opponents and the ground, destroying the deadly blades.

The tree Kakashi was perched in began to shake and he quickly leapt off as it burst, sending shards of bark and wood out like daggers. They did little damage to his back and torso protected by the light armor beneath his vest but sliced into his arms and his already bleeding legs, he stumbled as he landed.

He formed a seal. "Doton! Doroku Gaeshi!" A wall of dirt rose up shielding him.

"You're hurt," Hotaru said as he sat her down.

"Really, I didn't notice," Kakashi replied as he quickly bandaged one of the worse cuts on his leg.

"The only one you should concern yourself with is the grass shinobi; the kits can handle the others." The vixen's ears twitched. "He approaches from the west, he's lost in bloodlust for you."

Kakashi did a quick substitution jutsu and leaving a replicate hid in a nearby tree. "At least with him focused on me, everyone else will be safe."

"Do you really want to be the focus of my attention?" Shiro hissed in his ear.

Kakashi had no time to defend himself as kunai plunged into his side. Luckily the armor beneath blocked most of the blade and it only nicked him. Kakashi grabbed the hand attached to the weapon flipping his attacker over his head. He wasn't surprised to see the clone disappear when it struck a tree; his Sharingan had already told him it wasn't the true Shiro.

Pulling out a handful of kunai, Kakashi looked around for the real grass shinobi. A branch moved he tossed one of his weapons.

"You're attacking the wind now," Shiro taunted.

Kakashi released a second kunai toward the place where the voice had come from.

"And now you're attacking nothing, is this all a shinobi of Konoha is capable of?"

"You have no idea what I am capable of!"

"He's using the trees to pin-point your location." Hotaru said appearing at his side. "He can read the flora as easily as I can pick up his scent."

Kakashi glanced down at the fox and noticed her white coat had a small crimson stain across the muzzle. He took out a scroll and unraveling it took his thumb and wiped some of the blood from Hotaru and rubbed it across the scroll. He made a sign while holding the scroll and then slammed it on the ground at his feet. "Ninpou Kuchiyose Doton Tsuiga no Jutsu"

"I don't know what you are trying to do but you'll fail."

"Wait for it," Kakashi said as the ground rumbled a few meters away.

A yell of pain and surprise signaled that his Tracking Fang Technique had been successful. He found Shiro immobilized by his Ninken; all eight of the dogs had their teeth clamped into his arms and legs.

"How in the hell?" Shiro glowered.

"My fox had traces of your blood on her muzzle; it was all I needed for my Ninken to find you. You may control the grass and trees but not the ground they grow in."

Kakashi approached the trapped ninja. "You said earlier, you were here under orders, who gave you those orders?"

Shiro chuckled. "Like I'd tell you … go to hell!" A thorn shot out of his mouth, the distance was too short for Kakashi to react in time. However, Hotaru was quicker and let out a yelp as she jumped into the barb and crashed to the ground.

Kakashi slammed his fist into the face of the other, not satisfied with the blood that splattered across his glove; he pummeled him until he fell unconscious. "Hold him," he commanded his dogs.

Hotaru was still on the ground where she had fallen, breathing heavily. Kakashi knelt down and pulled out the thorn. It was barely bleeding but he doubted the barb was meant to do the damage.

"It's poison, Kakashi-kun." Hotaru confirmed his fears.

He pulled out a bottle and taking off the cork poured some into the fox's mouth. "It's a general antidote, as long as he didn't get to fancy with the poison it should work."

He sensed Kiba, Shino and Hinata before they appeared behind him. "Kiba and Akamaru keep an eye on that bastard. If he blinks feel free to tear off an arm or leg. Hinata please your Byakugan and look at my fox, see if the anti-venom I gave is countering the poison."

Hinata did as he asked and studied Hotaru using her Byakugan for a moment. He could tell by her crestfallen face the news wasn't good. "Damn it," he rubbed a hand across her white fur.

"Let me try," Shino said kneeling down beside Kakashi. A dozen insects appeared out of the cuff of his jacket and crawled onto Hotaru burying themselves into her white fur. "My father saved my life once with these insects they can remove and neutralize the poison but I'm afraid her small body …"

"Thank you for trying," Kakashi said as he watched Hotaru laboring to breath. He wanted to ask if she was in pain but doubted she would reply with an audience. Pulling a kunai out he wondered if he should end it before her organs shut down.

"Sensei! Shino's insects are working the poison is leaving her system … but the damage may be irreversible." Hinata said solemnly.

Kakashi nodded and after Shino's insects had returned, he gathered Hotaru up in his arms. He gestured toward the still unconscious Shiro. "Take him to Yashiro Goro, after we figure out the integrity of the police department we'll hand him over to the right authorities."

"Where are you going, Kakashi-sensei?" Hinata asked.

"I'll catch up," Kakashi said as he leapt up into a nearby tree and disappeared from their sight.

**Chapter Seven**

"Put me down, Kakashi-kun."

Kakashi looked skeptical. "You're still shaking; I can hold you awhile longer. Even you need time to recover from the poison." He cuddled her on the outskirts of town, giving them the privacy they needed to talk.

"Time is not a luxury I have at the moment. I'm afraid our time to part has arrived."

"Part … what do you mean?"

"As much as I enjoyed your company, it is time to return to Amaya."

"I'd almost forgotten about your bond to the fox-summoner's daughter. Can't you stay awhile longer …" Kakashi stopped from continuing.

"I've already waited longer then I should. Any further delay and I'll lose her forever, and I refuse to do that." Fire sparkled in the pink eyes.

"Lose her … what do you mean?" He let out a yell as Hotaru bit his hand, causing him to drop her.

The small fox stumbled but ran deeper into the forest. "I'm sorry, Kakashi-kun." Her voice whispered back to him.

"Damn it!" Kakashi was bloody and worn out from his battle with Shiro. For one brief moment he considered letting Hotaru go but she was still hurt and he owed her too much to leave her alone. Using the blood from the bite on his hand he summoned Pakkun.

The small pug looked up at him as he sniffed the air. "She went this way," he said racing off.

Kakashi followed willing his battered body to keep up with the running dog. The race was shorter then he expected when Pakkun came to a stop outside a decrepit shack. "She's in there," he announced and then disappeared.

The door was halfway hanging off its hinges and creaked loudly when he opened. Hotaru glanced up at him and sighed but seemed focus on something on the floor. The sunlight coming in from the broken windows and slats illuminated a large drawing in blood; the fox was completely the final circle with her bloody paw.

Kakashi stared at the seal in astonishment; he recognized it right away as seal that impedes the release of chakra. It was often used to control dangerous shinobi. "Hotaru, what the hell are you doing?"

The fox looked up at him panting heavily, he made a move to step toward her but she growled ordering him to stay out of the seal.

She sat down in middle of the circle her sides heaving. "Perhaps, it's better this way … she's not as strong as me it will take her time to recover. Protect her, Kakashi-kun."

"Protect who?"

"You'll understand in a moment … we're sorry … we never …" Hotaru let out a scream and at the same moment triggered the seal. Kakashi backed away reaching for his headband to reveal his Sharingan.

"Please … don't …"

He let his hand fall as the small shack exploded in light. He recognized it wasn't just light but unleashed chakra of in-human strength. The power was kept in check because of the seal drawn earlier. After the glow faded he couldn't hide the shock of what he saw.

Lying in the circle was the unmoving naked body of a young woman, Amaya.


	9. PART FIVE Hidden Truths

**PART FIVE-Hidden Truths**

**Chapter One**

Hatake Kakashi was sitting on the floor of a broken down shed. Staring at the still form that laid in front of him, he could tell by the way her sides were moving she was breathing but had made no move to touch her. The seal around her still glowed bright white and would injure him if he tried to approach.

"This is crazy," he muttered. But in reality missing pieces fell into place. Amaya and Hotaru might have been two separate beings years ago but now existed as one, much like Naruto and the Nine-Tails. But that was the only thing they had similar with his student. His mind went over the incidents where he had interacted with Amaya.

The first time was in the cave, at that time she had been the dominate spirit with Hotaru possibly asleep inside her; also the reason Kyuubi hadn't sensed his daughter's presence. Her tale of the past had mentioned her father demand the return of Hotaru during the attack on the village thirteen years ago and that it had been too late by then. Which probably means the union had already happened … but how? Staying out of the blood drawn circle he walked around Amaya looking, using his Sharingan for any signs of a seal similar to Naruto's, he found none. Could they willing fuse their beings he wondered, he would have to wait and ask to find out the answer.

Kakashi staggered and he lowered his forehead protector once more to cover his eye. His stamina was at its limit. He studied the still form once again, unlike their first meeting her amazing chakra was evident, literally seeping out of her body only being stopped by the seal. Together, Hotaru and Amaya must be able to control the chakra to the point of being able to make it all but disappear when they were coherent, but in her unconscious state the chakra flowed freely.

Eyeing the chakra he recalled their second meeting and how she somehow infused that power into his own body giving him the strength he needed to defeat the rock shinobi but almost destroying his own body. What kind of abilities did she have to keep that kind of power in check? He remembered how she got hurt by a flying kunai and that wound was shared by Hotaru when he found her. Was being injured what triggered the change between who was the dominate spirit or was there something else … and if they shared their wounds did that mean Amaya was battling the poison that had been in Hotaru?

Kakashi ran his hand through his hair, so many questions and the only one that had the answer didn't look like she'd be in the world of the living any time soon. Calling on his inner strength, he once again called upon his Ninken, this time he asked the dogs to protect the unconscious woman and to call him if she awoke.

Afterwards Kakashi limped back toward town. He still had to deal with the shinobi from Village Hidden among Grass as well as make sure the law enforcement left behind was legit.

Hinata and Shino met him at the front gate, both quickly moved to his sides so he could use them as support. "Kiba and Akamaru are guarding, Kataoka Shiro. He's regained conscious but isn't talking. I checked him with Byakugan to make sure he didn't have any more poisonous barbs in him. Yashiro Goro has called an emergency city council meeting to discuss the events." Hinata filled him in as they walked through the streets. Though it was just barely morning, the town was a flurry of activity.

An anxious Goro met them outside a large stately building. "Kakashi-sama, we were worried about you! I'll have the medical-nin come immediately to treat your wounds."

"No need, all I need is a warm bath and a soft bed. I'll be fine. I'm more concerned about how you're dealing with your police force. We could summon a few shinobi to come in and help out if needed."

"With the help of young Hinata we've been weeding out the bad seeds, she was able to tell who the deceivers were from those that were just ignorant. Your Hokage-sama also offered the assistance of Hinata, Shino and Kiba until we were secure."

Kakashi nodded. "Seems you have everything under control, if you'll pardon me then, I'm going to go find a hot bath."

Goro motioned to a man standing nearby. "This is the proprietor of the hotel behind me; he'll find you everything you need."

Later that night Kakashi as rested on a plush bed, freshly washed, bandaged and fed, he glanced out a nearby open window and thought of the woman he left in the outskirts. Until the seal faded there wasn't anything he could do and his Ninken hadn't alerted him of any changes.

Tomorrow he'd return to Amaya and then hopefully once she awoke finally get some straight answers.

**Chapter Two**

Kakashi walked into the shed to find the dogs snuggled against Amaya, the seal on the floor no longer glowed, nor was he able to physically see her chakra. He opened his pack and took out a blanket. The dogs moved as he laid out his bedroll beside her, he gently picked her up trying to ignore the fact she was naked. Her flesh was cool to the touch; the warmth of the dogs hadn't helped against the chill of the morning. Laying her down on his bedroll he covered her with the blanket. Once the blanket was in place he felt a little less like a peeking tom and checked her over with a medical eye. Though her body was cool to touch her forehead was warm indicating a small fever, her breathing was light, as if asleep.

As he sat back his Ninken returned to Amaya's side and laid down with her. Kakashi wondered if they sensed the kinder spirit inside her. He glanced at the pug that had curled up on her belly. "Any idea how long she'll be out?" He asked.

"Do I look like a doctor?" Pakkun replied. "She hasn't stirred since you summoned us. The seal faded late last night and she was shivering from the cold so we tried to warm her up by lying next to her."

Kakashi nodded and pulled out his book. "Guess we wait then."

The morning passed slowly, ever so often he'd take out some water and try to get her to drink a little but for the most part left her alone to sleep. He was munching on a cold lunch of jerky when Pakkun alerted him of someone's approach. Kakashi quickly moved outside and was met by Kiba and Akamaru.

"Kakashi-sensei, I'm sorry to bother you … Akamaru and I tracked you here, I'm glad you didn't leave for Konoha." Kiba seemed slightly out of breath.

"I wouldn't leave until the Grass Shinobi was taken care of."

"That's the reason I'm here, he's gone!"

"What do you mean gone? Weren't you and the others watching him?" Kakashi didn't mean to use such an accusing tone.

"Goro-sama swore his newly appointed police officers could guard him for a short period so we could eat … Hinata and I took him up on the offer. Shino stayed with the guards …" Kiba's voice trailed off.

Kakashi glanced at the shed behind him. "Protect her a bit longer," he thought to himself. He gestured for Kiba to follow him as he raced back toward town. "And what happened?"

"When we got back the guards … were dead."

"Shino?"

"He was gone, Akamaru said some of the blood was his but we could only hope he was uninjured enough to follow the Grass Shinobi. I wanted to track him but Hinata sensed you were still close and said we should get you first."

"Wise choice, he almost kicked my ass yesterday, if it hadn't been for … for my fox."

"Where is she?"

"She's gone," Kakashi said as they cleared the outer wall of the city.

"I'm sorry." Kiba replied keeping pace.

"No, not dead … gone …" Kakashi spotted Hinata and Goro standing outside the police quarters. He landed in front of them. "Show me where he escaped from." He instructed.

As Hinata led the way Goro apologized for his misjudgment. Kakashi waved him off. "I shouldn't have left, I'm sorry more people died."

He was led to a small room, the thick wooden door hung on one hinge, there was blood splattered in the hallway. The room itself was gruesome; the four guards were still where they fell.

"I ordered people to leave the scene as we found it until you got here, Kakashi-sama," Goro said. He did not approach the room and spoke from the hallway.

For a brief moment Kakashi debated telling Hinata and Kiba to do the same but they were shinobi, this kind of violence was all too common in the path they chose to walk. He crouched next to one of the dead guards. His throat was slit but the death expression frozen on his face didn't quite match, something was amiss.

Pulling his mask down slightly to expose his nose Kakashi sniffed tentatively. A barely noticeable bitter odor hung in the air. "He unleashed a poison or some sort of stunning agent before killing them. Did you guys notice that when you entered the first time?"

"Yes, Akamaru wouldn't let us enter right off. We aired the room first."

Kakashi quickly checked the other guards; all had died the same violent way. He then turned his attention to the room itself. The chair, Shiro had been bound to, was still in the middle of the room, the ropes that bound him on the floor. A closer look at the cord showed that it had been shredded; it wasn't a clean cut like that of blade.

"Somehow he summoned the same sort of thorns he trapped me in, to free himself … not sure how, perhaps from within himself?" Kakashi thought aloud.

He took another glance around and spotted a small black mound in the corner, closer examination showed them to be a pile of dead insects. "Shino must have used his insect clone technique to escape, looks like the poison killed some of his bugs."

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Kiba brush away a bug from his face, the fly buzzed around the genin and as he moved to swat it Kakashi quickly shifted and caught his hand stopping him. With his other hand he gently caught the insect.

"Kakashi-sensei?"

"This is one of Shino's, Hinata it should have his chakra infused in it … are there others?"

"Byakugan!" Hinata was quiet for a moment as she gazed, seeing things the others could not. "Yes! I see more … it's … it's like a trail …"

"I thought so; Shino left them for us to follow. Hinata lead the way, Kiba have Akamaru use his nose too. Let's go!"

**Chapter Three**

Kakashi trailed behind Hinata and Kiba, he was concerned they were still within the city walls; he didn't want to fight such a dangerous opponent with civilians around. The genins came to a stop in front of large building in the warehouse district.

"The insects stop, Shiro is in there … I also see four other people, I don't see Shino."

"I'm here." Shino appeared at their side.

Kakashi quickly gave him a once over, there was a bloody bandage on his right arm at a glance that seemed his only injury.

"Oh, Shino, you're hurt!" Hinata said.

"I'm fine," Shino replied. "Shiro came to this warehouse after escaping; the others must have already here when he arrived. I haven't seen any other activity since then."

"How did he escape, Shino? Is there anything unusual about the building, Hinata?"

Shino spoke first. "He was just sitting silently in the chair when suddenly there was a burst of poison from his body, I was able to do a quick substitution but the other guards weren't so lucky. The venom didn't kill them only stun them. Before I could counter thorns grew out of his body and tore away the bindings. He then slaughtered the four defenseless guards before escaping, I decided it was better to pursue then confront and wait for reinforcements."

"Good call, Hinata?"

"Nothing abnormal that I can see, Kakashi-sensei … but what should I be looking for?" Hinata asked.

"Plants … anything that remotely looks like a plant," he said.

"Nothing there," she replied.

"Okay, I'm going in, you three are my back up. I'll enter from the north, Kiba and Akamaru south, Hinata west and Shino east. You're targets are the four others with him. At this point regard them as highly skilled grass shinobi so you aren't taken by surprise. Hopefully they are just untalented thugs. As much as I would love to question Shiro more I'm not going to risk it, we'll try to get information from the others we detained. Our goal is to eradicate him; if I fail you three will have to do it."

"Yes, Sensei," they replied.

Kakashi leapt up to a window on the north side of the building. He couldn't see the Shiro or the others through the dirty glass pane. Revealing his Sharingan he quietly entered. He found the five of them in a glass enclosed office, from his vantage point he couldn't see what they were talking about. Their voices and faces were hidden, preventing him from reading their lips.

A large crash came from his left; he saw a swarm of bugs disappear from the metal barrel they had knocked over. The noise alerted the five in the office and two of them drew weapons and came out to investigate.

Kakashi nodded his head with approval. "Good job, Shino." He wasn't going to waste time this battle. He called upon his most powerful technique, the Raikiri. The ball of chakra glowed blue in his hand as he crash through the large glass window toward Shiro. However, one of the others placed himself in front of his target and his chakra slammed into the chest second man.

As he went to pull his hand out of the torso of the dead guy, Kakashi was started to find vines wrapping around his arm. They weren't human.

"Like my vegetation clones?" Kataoka Shiro said with an evil grin.

"How?" Kakashi thought as he pulled out a kunai and started slicing at the creeping plant. "How did you hide the fact they were clones from my Sharingan?"

Vines exploded out of the second clone, their tips were razor sharp. Kakashi quickly flipped the first that still held his hand trapped in the path of the attack, blocking it. His kunai finally freed him and he leapt back. The hole left by his Raikiri sealed itself and the clone became whole.

"Damn it!" Kakashi swore as he pulled out a second kunai. Outside the office the sound of battle could be heard.

"Seems the children are having fun with the other two clones," Shiro said.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" A dozen replicas appeared. "My clones can kick your clone's ass," Kakashi declared as his shadow clones attacked.

**Chapter Four**

Kakashi watched the fight hidden in the corner of the office. His clones were holding their own but there was something that wasn't quite right and instead of joining the fray he took a moment to figure out what was amiss.

The clones from the other day hadn't been these vegetation clones, they had been shadow clones. If Shiro had this kind of power why didn't he use it then? Perhaps it took too much chakra to create them. And why wasn't his Sharingan picking up the fact they were clones? One of his clones got in close with Shiro and its kunai slashed him across his face. Kakashi swore when the cut disappeared a moment later. It was a clone too.

The real Shiro wasn't here. Kakashi cursed again as it became clear he and the genins had been led into a trap. An idea came to him; the clones were made of plants and though seemly invulnerable to attacks there was an element that was unbeatable when it came to vegetation.

He quickly formed a seal and held his hand up to his lips taking a deep breath. "Katon Goukakyuu no Jutsu!" A great fireball blasted forth from his mouth and ignited the three replicas as his own clones vanished. Within the fiery trap he watched with concern as at first they seemed to be even untouchable by flames but then they stumbled and soon slumped over into burning heaps. Only after he confirmed they were indeed finished did Kakashi leave the still smoking room to track down Kiba and the rest.

He found them just as their second opponent collapsed. Kakashi watched as a small swarm of insects left the now still form and returned to Shino.

"Plant eating insects?" Kakashi asked.

"Not exactly, Hinata pinpointed the central chakra power and I sent them in to devour it, without chakra they are just heaps of rotting vegetations." Shino said.

"What about Shiro?" Kiba asked.

"He's not here," Kakashi told them.

"Impossible, I tracked him here and no one left the building or my insects would have seen them."

"The Shiro I knocked unconscious in the woods was a human; I still have the blood on my gloves to prove it. However, I'm wondering if the Shiro that killed the guards wasn't a clone … would explain the poison and the vines that seemed to come out of his flesh."

"He was bound to that chair the moment we got back with him," Kiba pointed out.

"And under guard," Hinata added.

"Yes and we know how honest the police force is here," Kakashi said. "Is there any time when none of you were in the room with him?"

"No, we made sure one of us was always with him just in case. Even at night-time we took shifts." Hinata added.

"No bathroom breaks, when you switched shifts, nothing like that?"

"Well, there was the moment when Akamaru ran out of the room after some cat but I was only gone a moment," Kiba said. "And Akamaru didn't notice anything different."

"If the clone was wearing the same clothes would he notice?"

Kiba looked down and said quietly "I don't know."

"Let's assume for the moment that was when the switch happened, who was in the room with you?" Kakashi asked.

"There were three guards, we always had four people in the room with him at all times, two which are dead now …" Kiba answered.

"And the third?"

"He was a police officer, his name is Rokuro … his watch seemed to coincide with mine. Nice enough fellow a little on the quiet side." Kiba said.

"But how would they make the switch, even if Kiba wasn't there … there were others." Hinata said.

"A simple genjutsu would fool the average person, the other two couldn't see through the illusions." Kakashi said. "Okay, you three are the best team for tracking let's return to the police station and see if you can pick up any faint trails left behind. I'll play full-time body guard to Goro; hopefully he's been okay while we've been away. Let's hurry back."

"Yes, Sensei," they answered, as the group of them raced back.

Just as they reached the doors of the police station Kakashi heard the howl in the distance, he recognized it as one of his Ninken. The timing couldn't have been worse. He debated for a moment and then decided Amaya had taken care of herself before and would be fine again, as curious as he was to find out answers he had more pressing matters.

Kakashi was relieved to find Goro unharmed, though upset once he found out that Shiro had escaped. The anger turned to fear when he heard about the vegetable clones and how they hid themselves among the living.

"How do they do that?" Goro demanded to know.

"I don't know," Kakashi answered truthfully.

"Kakashi-sensei … I think, I know," Hinata said timidly. "They are made out of plants and even plants have a small amount of chakra in them. I believe my eyes were deceived by this; I'll try harder next time. Though they have chakra they can't duplicate the complex system humans have, that is what I'll look for."

"Sounds good, Hinata," Kakashi said with approval. "Goro-sama, may we speak to one of your officers a man named Rokuro?"

"Of course," Goro gestured toward one of the men that stood close. Kakashi was impressed how much power and respect Goro had in this town. No one had argued when he took over as police chief until a suitable replacement could be found.

A short time later the man returned and Kakashi wasn't surprised when he told Goro Rokuro couldn't be found.

"Can you please bring Kiba to Rokuro's apartment?" Kakashi asked. "I'd like him and Akamaru to have a look around."

"Is something wrong?" Goro asked.

"I believe Rokuro is working for Shiro."

"Impossible, Hinata-san didn't notice anything deceitful about him during our questioning."

Hinata bowed. "My eyes see many things but there are some things even my eyes cannot see unless I know exactly what I am looking for, I'm sorry."

"No need to apologize, though knowing what we do now I'd like to gather up all of your officers and have Hinata give them a once over … to make sure they are human."

"As you wish," Goro said.

As Goro, Hinata and Kiba left the room to do their various assignments, Kakashi turned to Shino. "Go back to the integration room; look for any signs of Shiro's escape. The genin nodded and left.

As Kakashi went to catch up with Goro he was cut off by Pakkun. The small pug had a bloody cut across is muzzle. "What are you still doing here? The other Ninken can't hold them at bay much longer … they are going to kill her!"

_(More to this part still on the writing board, not going to hold the story ransom and say I won't finish it until I get reviews but …. I positive review that I'm not wasting my time wouldn't be ignore ;) K)_


	10. PART FIVE Cont

**Chapter Five**

Kakashi raced through the town, Hinata at his side. He had sent Pakkun to tell Shino to stay with Goro until he returned.

"Kakashi-sensei, what is wrong? Where we are we going?" Hinata asked as she struggled to keep up with him.

"Pakkun knows where Shiro and another grass shinobi are, probably Rokuro." Kakashi said as they cleared the city's gate.

"Shouldn't we get Kiba and Shino?"

"Need Shino to protect Goro in case this is another trap, we don't have time to find Kiba … the Grass Shinobi have a hostage."

"Hostage … who?" Hinata asked, surprised.

"Amaya," Kakashi said as the hovel came into view, he motioned for Hinata to stop.

"I've heard that name before," Hinata whispered.

Kakashi nodded. "You met her a while ago in No-Man's Land."

Hinata's eyes lit up in recognition. "But, but what is she doing here?"

"Long story … quiet," Kakashi instructed in a hushed voice.

Kakashi could see no traces of his Ninken; he had to assume they had been defeated. A male voice from inside the shed confirmed his fear.

"Wow, no wonder that Leaf Village shinobi wasn't there to guard me; this is one hot looking babe." The voice belonged to Shiro. "Wakey … wakey … my little nymph."

Kakashi's hand trembled as he kept his rage in check this wasn't a time to lose control.

"Is she dead?" Another voice said. "We really shouldn't screw around with this, no idea how long my clones will fool those Konoha ninjas."

"You worry too much brother, if they weren't already dead or searching for us elsewhere. when those dogs had gone off their master would have returned and I think I'll _screw_ around a little more. No idea why the bitch doesn't wake up, she's breathing but I don't need her awake …"

"Hinata," Kakashi growled the fury he felt clearly in his voice. "What do you see?"

"Byakugan!" Hinata was silent for a moment as she studied what was going on beyond the walls. "There are three people, one man is standing, the other … the other is on the ground kneeling, straddling the third … all three are truly humans."

"There is a seal drawn in blood on the floor, are the three of them in it?"

"Yes, Kakashi-sensei," Hinata replied.

"Okay, this is the plan. I'm going to attack them hard with shadow clones … my only goal is keep them where they are. While I do that you go and remove Amaya from the circle and then trigger the seal, trapping me inside with those two. You'll need to stay in contact with the seal at all times using your chakra." Kakashi said.

"What kind of seal is that, Sensei?" Hinata asked.

"It prevents the use of chakra inside it."

"But … won't that affect you too?" Hinata pressed.

"Oh, I won't need chakra to kick their asses. One more thing, scan the area around us looking for other humans, or more of those vegetable clones."

After receiving assurance that she couldn't see anything and showing her the hand signs she would need to activate the blood seal, Kakashi revealed his Sharingan and formed a seal of his own, bringing forth a dozen shadow replicas. With a nod toward Hinata he and his clones rushed inside. Some rushed through the door with him while others crashed through the window and weaker spots in the walls.

The two grass shinobi were caught by surprise and Kakashi was pleased to see as his shadow clones dog-piled them that both still had their clothes on, though the blanket had been removed from Amaya.

"Forgive me, Hotaru," Kakashi thought to himself as he slammed his knee into the groin of Shiro.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Hinata appear and pick up Amaya. The white haired girl dwarfed the shy genin but Hinata didn't seem to mind as she moved them both out of the ring of blood. She then knelt down beside the ring and using the seals he had taught her, activated it.

Instantly his clones disappeared. Kakashi's body shuddered slightly as his chakra level was forcibly lowered. The effect of the seal on his opponents was immediately evident. Shiro dropped to his knees, Rokuro adjusted quicker and moved in front of his brother.

"I don't know what the hell just happened, but I do know whatever it is, it's affected you too Hidden Leaf Shinobi. I have no clue why you would step into such a death trap with two …"

Kakashi moved with speed that would have impressed Gai as he unleashed a storm of Kunai. Rokuro dodged them but Shiro was struck in the side by one.

"Get out of here Shiro, finish off the brat triggering the seal, I'll keep this one busy."

Shiro moved to the edge of the seal but let out a howl of pain as his hand came in contact with the chakra wall, burning flesh from bone.

"You didn't think it would be that easy?" Kakashi asked. He glanced over at Hinata; the amount of chakra it took to keep the seal up would drain the young genin quickly. He dodged an attack from Rokuro and grabbing his arm he bent it backwards causing bones to break.

Focused on one Kakashi barely dodged the blade in Shiro's hand. Without releasing Rokuro he tripped Shiro causing him to once again slam into the wall of chakra and let out a horrible scream as the right side of his face was destroyed.

"Brother!" Rokuro tore his arm free and slammed a fist into Kakashi's stomach. His body armor absorbed most of the blow but it caused him to lose a few steps, the heel of his left shoe stopped a breath away from the chakra wall.

"Kakashi-sensei, I'm not sure how much longer I can hang on …" Hinata warning came as there was a slight waiver in the seal's strength.

"Your plan is coming to a painful end," Rokuro snarled as he stood protectively in front of his brother. "As soon as this pitiful seal fades you and that brat will experience pain that you have never imagined."

"Has anyone ever told you, you talk too much?" Kakashi said attacking. Just then the seal faded and his foe let out a dark laugh.

"You lose," Rokuro said.

"No the only losers here are you two," a new voice said.

Kakashi glanced over and saw Amaya kneeling next to the now unconscious Hinata. "Go Kakashi-kun," she said. He quickly moved himself out of the seal, the two Grass Shinobi were not as quick and though they tried to escape when Amaya reactivated the seal with the fox demon chakra within it ended up completely cutting Shiro in half … his head and torso were outside the circle the rest within.

"No!" Rokuro shouted as his brother's blood pooled around his feet. "You bitch! I'll kill you … I'll kill you all!"

"No … no you won't," Amaya said. Suddenly the level of chakra increased ten-fold. Kakashi could only watch in horror as Rokuro's body seemed to explode within the circle. The small shed was splattered with blood, including those within.

As quickly as it had appeared the level of chakra disappeared. "What did you do, Amaya?" Kakashi said softly.

Two very pink eyes looked up at him. "It wasn't Amaya, please take her from this place before she awakes don't let her see."

"Hotaru …" Kakashi sighed. "I needed at least one alive."

"After what they were going to do to my kit, they should die a thousand times more." The white haired woman in front of him trembled. "Please, Kakashi, she's fighting me … she knows something is amiss get her out of her."

Kakashi grabbed Hinata in one arm and the semi-conscious Amaya in the other and ran out of the hut. He continued his brisk walk until they were well away.

"Put me down, Kakashi." The voice now belonged to Amaya.

"You know this whole split personality thing is a real turn off," Kakashi said as he deposited the still naked Amaya on the ground.

The young lady seemed unaware of her lack of clothing and instead looked in revulsion at the blood that splattered her pale body. She glanced up at Kakashi. "Yours?"

"No." He replied simply.

Amaya wrapped her arms around herself. "What did she do? Why won't she talk to me?"

Kakashi's answer was cut off by the arrival of a large dog, Akamaru. Kiba arrived a moment later and froze mid-step staring at the naked woman kneeling on the ground.

"Um …" Whatever Kiba was going to say was lost to him.

Kakashi nudged him. "Give her your coat, and then check Hinata. I think she's just weak from using up her chakra. I need to go back and clean up."

"Clean up?" Amaya asked standing.

Kiba quickly turned away as he unfastened his coat and tossed it her general direction.

"Please, just stay here Amaya … I mean it, stay here. You both owe me that."

The other nodded and wrapped herself in the large coat of Kiba.

**Chapter Six**

Kakashi gingerly picked his way through the corpses in the shed. There was very little of the one that had been trapped in the seal when Hotaru had … he sighed. Had he made a mistake about the fox spirit, perhaps it would be better to bring Amaya to the Hokage and be done with the mess.

He moved on to the more intact corpse. After using his Sharingan to check for any booby-traps on the body, he searched through pockets. Tucked inside the vest was a scroll with an intricate seal. Preparing for the worse Kakashi took out a small scroll of his own and sealed the other inside, wrapping it with a tag only another Konoha shinobi could release.

He tucked the now secure scroll inside his own vest and after checking for anything else of value and finding nothing, he gathered up his belongings. Stepping outside he called on his fire Jutsu and destroyed both the hut and the corpses within. After making sure the flames were contained to just the structure he made his way back to the others.

He sighed loudly when he found only Kiba in the clearing. "Where is she?" He all but growled.

The young man looked startled at Kakashi's evident anger. "Um … the girls went down to the nearby stream to wash off, and see if any of Hinata's clothes fit. I sent Akamaru with them just to be safe."

Kakashi shoulders relaxed and he moved toward the direction Kiba had indicated making sure to create enough noise he could be heard approaching. As the river came into view Hinata stood up from behind a shrub.

"Just a second, Kakashi-Sensei, um … my clothes aren't fitting very well; do you or Kiba have an extra set of clothes?" Hinata yelped and pushed a rising Amaya back down behind the bushes.

Kakashi opened his pack and took out a rolled up set of clothes. He tossed them toward Hinata who caught them and then disappeared back behind the bushes. He groaned when he heard the sounds of ripping. A short time later both females appeared. Amaya was dressed in his sleeveless black shirt, that didn't quite fit the same as it did him; her chest pulled the shirt up, baring her midriff. His pants had been made into shorts with the extra fabric now wrapped around her feet in a form of sandals.

"Seems I owe you a pair of pants, Kakashi," Amaya said as she knelt in front of him.

Hinata moved behind her and taking out a comb started working through the damp waist length ivory locks.

"You owe me more then that," Kakashi said. "But for now I have a mission to finish."

The young genin looked at them with interest but didn't say anything as she continued to work on Amaya's hair. Soon she had it in single braid down the middle of her back.

"All right if you two are done playing beauty salon, we need to get back." Kakashi said as he called out for Kiba to join them.

Hinata blushed as she put her comb away. Kiba and Akamaru appeared. Amaya bowed toward them, "It is good to see you all again. I'm sorry it has been for such unpleasant reasons."

"Good to see you again … and with clothes," Kiba said with a smirk.

Kakashi moved in front of Amaya and knelt offering her his back. For a brief moment it looked as if she would refuse but then she wrapped her arms and legs around him and he took to the trees with Kiba and Hinata following close behind.

As he jumped easily from one branch to the next he was surprised how light his passenger felt, she was as almost as tall as he was. He could feel her breath on his neck and her heart beating against his back. Her slender legs were wrapped around his chest, and his arms slipped underneath in piggy back style.

"We have a lot to talk about," he said in a voice that wouldn't carry.

"I know," she whispered back. "Though I wonder …"

"What?" Kakashi asked.

"Will I have to sleep on a blanket in your room? Or do I get to share your bed?"

Kakashi missed the next foothold and frantically grabbed a branch with one hand while using the other to keep Amaya from falling off his back.

Amaya muffled a giggle in the fabric of his shirt. "I was just joking, Kakashi. I know I can't go back to Konoha with you."

"We'll figure out that hurdle once we get to it," Kakashi said as he recovered and continued the trek back to town.

_ That and the fan-girls would have my head! ;) I did promise no sex with canons + originals … maybe just a kiss … 3_

**Chapter Seven**

Outside of town Amaya asked to be set down. "Go do what you need to do, Shinobi of Konoha. I'll wait here."

The dubious look in Kakashi's face was reflected by Kiba. "Akamaru can stay with her." Kiba offered.

"Truly you two, I'll be fine." Looking up at Kakashi she continued. "And I'll be right here when you return."

Kakashi dug through his rapidly depleting supplies and tossed her a half bag of granola and a canteen of water. "The dog stays," he said. "I'll be back before nightfall."

"Kakashi-Sensei, how did …" Kiba started to speak soon after they had left Amaya.

"Don't ask, please, thanks for the loan Akamaru." Kakashi and the others made their way into town where they were greeted by a relieved Goro and the ever calm Shino.

"Oh so good to see all three of you … alive," Yashiro Goro said, his eyes filled with concern when he noticed the blood splattered clothes of Kakashi and Hinata.

"Shiro and Rokuro are dead," Kakashi told him. "They were both from Kusagakure, Village Hidden among Grass. I'm not sure about Shiro's claims of being here under orders or not. Regardless, rest assured Konoha will look into the matter. For now I'd like to leave these three shinobi with you as the Hokage offered. Even with the immediate danger passed, who knows what's on the horizon."

Goro bowed. "I and the citizens of this town, thank you. What about you, Kakashi-sama? Will you be staying as well?"

Kakashi shook his head. "I recovered some important information that I need to get back, though before I leave I could use some supplies."

"Of course, whatever you need. Just tell the shopkeepers to put it on my tab."

Kakashi spent the next few hours going through various shops, replenishing his food as well as securing another outfit. With Hinata's help he also picked up a few pieces of clothing for Amaya, those he paid for out of pocket regardless of the complaints from the tellers.

Kiba and Shino met him near the city gate, his pack was slightly heavier then he would have liked but couldn't be helped.

"Okay be sure to keep on your toes. Just to be safe make sure one of you stay with Goro at all times.

"Hinata is with him now," Shino said.

Kakashi nodded. "Good, I really don't know what Kusagakure's shinobi wanted with this city or if this was just a ruse. For now act like Goro is still marked for assassination and act accordingly."

"Yes sir," they replied in unison.

**Chapter Eight**

Kakashi raced off; with this late of a start they wouldn't make it very far before it got dark, he wanted to cover as much distance as he could. He found Amaya where he'd left her; she was resting against the tree with Akamaru lying across her legs.

The large dog lifted up his head and wagged his tail, Amaya eyes remained closed. She was asleep oblivious of his arrival. He coughed softly and when that brought no reaction tapped her on the shoulder. His touch startled her awake.

"If I was a bad guy you'd be dead," he said.

"If you were a bad guy, Akamaru would have awakened me like I asked him to." She replied standing and stretching. When she lifted her arms above her head it raised her already revealing shirt even higher on her midriff.

Kakashi averted his gaze. "We need to go there is a lot of ground to cover and I'd like to get as far as I can before nightfall."

Amaya looked up at the already darkening sky. "With all due respect Kakashi, you've been in combat since this morning. Hinata told me of the fight in the warehouse as well as much as she remembered of the battle near the blood seal. I'm no medical ninja but I'm surprised you're still walking."

"You're right, you are no medical ninja," Kakashi said kneeling and offering her his back.

"Why can't shinobi walk on the ground like normal people?" Amaya asked.

"It's safer to move in the trees and faster."

"If you don't mind I'd like to run under my own power for now, if I slow you down I'll let you carry me."

Kakashi stood careful to keep his face expressionless but within he wanted to slap her for delaying him yet again.

Amaya rubbed Akamaru between the ears. "Thanks for the company; you can return to Kiba now, Kakashi will protect me."

The dog jumped up and licked her on the face before running off toward town. "All right, let's go," Amaya said as she raced off into the woods.

"Hey!" Kakashi called as he leapt into the trees. He easily caught up with her, though was surprised at the speed she was traveling. Increasing the pace she easily kept up beneath him. Soon he was in an all out sprint and to his amazement Amaya was actually a few strides in front of him.

The remaining hours of daylight passed quickly and soon after the stars came out he shouted out for her to stop, by then she was more then a few strides ahead of him. Amaya halted and waited for him to land down next to her. He decided the reason she was barely breathing hard and he was panting like a dog was because of his earlier battles.

Kakashi sent her to gather wood for a small fire as he rested against a tree. After she returned he started a small fire to help ward off the chill that had descended with the rise of the moon. He offered her some dried fish but that got him a look and he sighed. "Vegetarian … you two share way too much." He looked through his pack again and tossed her an apple. "You're going to need more then that," he said.

"Itadakimasu, I'll be fine," she said. "I've gone on less for longer."

As he munched on his meager meal he watched her. Her pale blue eyes met his and she gave him a timid smile. "Sorry if we've caused you much trouble."

"Hotaru has been a valuable ally these past few weeks, I owe her my life." Kakashi answered truthfully.

Her smile brightened and only to fade a moment later. "And now you're stuck with the weaker of the duo for awhile."

"How exactly does it work?" Kakashi asked. "I mean how, what decided who's um … visible?"

Amaya tossed the apple core into the forest and sighed. "Hopefully I can explain this so it makes sense. Back when I was a child Hotaru and I merged into one being, I don't remember exactly how. All I remember is holding her close one night and praying that she never leave me before I fell asleep. And when I awoke she was within me, she said my love for her opened my mind and soul to her spirit. With her inside me she healed my deformed legs and her chakra continues to heal any small wound I received. It was well after our exile that we found out we could switch who was dominate. It was a harsh winter and I sort of got lost in the woods. I was freezing to death when Hotaru called my soul to the spot within me that she rests. While I was there she took over my body transforming it to her own shape"

"So the transfer only takes place in stressful situations, when the going gets to tough for one or the other?" Kakashi asked.

"No, well not always … Hotaru is quick to take over when my life is danger. She's stronger then me so the transfer is quicker and there is no explosion of chakra like you witnessed the other day. She also recovers quicker, usually no more then a day and even then she still has some form of wakefulness; I can take two to three days to awaken and I'm dead to the world until I do."

"Before the transformation Hotaru said she could lose you forever … what did she mean?"

"My spirit is weak," Amaya sighed. "If my soul is the hidden one for more then a month I'll fade away. Hotaru can stay dormant inside me forever and still be there."

"What about the fox spirit's chakra, how do you control that?"

"Well as you saw when the transformation from fox to human takes place there is no control, the reason we have to use the seal otherwise it would be like a bomb going off. Once I'm awake with Hotaru's help I can keep it sealed inside me. We decided long ago that was for the best since I have no training to control it."

"Is Hotaru awake inside you now and you inside of her when she's in control?" Kakashi asked trying his best to understand.

"Yes to both, we often have conversations with each other within … and we can also do this …" Amaya closed her eyes a moment and when she opened them two pink eyes looked back at him.

"Take care of her, Kakashi-sama," the voice of Hotaru said before the eyes closed and reopened blue.

Amaya shrugged and smiled. "It works for us, though the past month has been nice … even if I had to experience it though Hotaru it was nice not to be alone."

"I wish I could promise …"

She shushed him. "Don't, we know … and are thankful for the time we have." Her eyes looked at him concerned. "Why don't you rest, I can take first watch. With Hotaru's help I'm almost as good watch dog as she is." Her eyes flashed for a second and she smiled and laughed softly. "She doesn't like to be called a dog."

Kakashi returned the smile and nodded. "I'm pretty exhausted; wake me up in a couple hours for my watch." He tossed her a blanket to help with the cool night air and then using a second one to cover himself fell asleep still leaned against the tree.

**Chapter Nine**

There was dew on the grass when Kakashi awoke. He watched as Amaya tended the small fire she had kept going through out the night. "What happened to waking me up in a couple of hours?" He asked, startling her.

She smiled. "I have an internal battery; I don't need as much sleep as normal people do."

"I take offense in being called normal," he replied with his own smile. After a quick breakfast they broke camp, this time Kakashi insisted on carrying her. "We're going to be in the woods that surround Konoha soon, I know where it's safe to travel and where to avoid the traps set to delay invaders."

There was no argument as she climbed onto his back and wrapped her legs and arms around him. They traveled in silence for the most part; Kakashi found himself missing his noisy four-legged companion from the past month.

It was still early morning when he sensed something. "Kakashi," Amaya whispered in his ear. "We're not alone."

"I know," he said coming to a stop on a high branch. Revealing his Sharingan he spun in a slow circle.

"Hotaru says there are twenty shinobi, they've surrounded us." Amaya said confirming what his eyes were telling him.

"Yesterday when you were running, was that as fast as you could go?" Kakashi asked as he dropped down on the ground and set her down.

Amaya blushed. "No, one of the perks of having a fox spirit within me is my speed."

Kakashi nodded and took out the scroll he had sealed earlier. "Hold onto this, and if things get messy I want you to run as fast as you can back to Konoha. Don't stop until this scroll is in the hands of the Fifth."

Nodding Amaya tucked the scroll into the waist of her pants. He then offered her a single Kunai. "I have no skill," she said.

"I know, but please take it, even an untamed hand can land a cut with a sharp blade … and a cut can delay pursue."

Amaya took the blade. "Now what?" she asked.

"Now we wait," Kakashi said as he formed a hand sign that transformed a couple of nearby tree stumps into replicas of them both. Then taking her into his arms he hid them both behind some rocks.

They didn't have to wait long before the small clearing was flooded by shinobi; Kakashi's replicas were turned into pincushions from kunais and shurikens. The shinobi all wore the forehead protectors of Kusagakure, Village Hidden among Grass.

Kakashi squeezed Amaya's hand. "When the time is right, run ... and don't look back." He whispered as he formed another quick hand sign.

The invading shinobi were attacked from all sides by Kakashi's shadow clones. At the same moment Amaya took off. Kakashi threw a Kunai at a grass shinobi that gave chase catching him in the leg. Then turned his attention to the dozen some foes before him.

"Is Kusagakure really going to war with Konoha?" Kakashi asked as he moved into a defensive stance.

"You think to highly of yourself and your insignificant town," one of the shinobi said. "We only want what you took from us, as well as settle score for deaths of Kataoka brothers … you and that white-haired woman will do."

"I'm afraid if you're keeping tabs I'm going to have to owe Kusagakure a few more shinobi by the end of the day." Kakashi said as he formed a seal and held his hand up to his lips taking a deep breath. "Katon Goukakyuu no Jutsu!" A great fireball blasted forth from his mouth and ignited the ground around him as he spun in a circle igniting the grass and shrubs around him. As the assailants leapt out of the way another quick jutsu caused the ground around him to up heave. Duplicating the signs he saw earlier in the week a few shinobi were caught within thorn laden vines and pinned down.

Having their own jutsu used against them had the desired effect of alarm and confusion. Employing another copied jutsu Kakashi caused a heavy mist to appear, then using it to conceal himself started to take out the foes one by one, permanently.

**Chapter Ten**

_(One of the few … only time(s) I'll switch out of Kakashi's point of view)_

Amaya raced along her feet barely touching the ground, it had been a long time since she had used the speed her bond blessed her with.

"_Trip wire to the left,"_ Hotaru whispered in her head.

"Saw it," she replied easily missing it. She listened for signs of pursuit but heard nothing.

"_We've lost anyone attempting to give chase."_ Hotaru confirmed. _"However, do not slow … Kakashi's life may depend on how fast we can get him reinforcements."_

"He is Hatake Kakashi, Copy Ninja of the Hidden Leaf Village," Amaya replied. "I feel sorry for his opponents."

The great gate to Konoha appeared. "Protect me Hotaru," she whispered.

"_Always."_

Without slowing she raced through the gate and past the startled guards, Hagane Kotetsu and Kamizuki Izumo. Before she had reached the first corner, the city was alive with alarm bells. Amaya felt her body start tingle, like it did when fox spirit within heightened her natural abilities.

"_The roof to the left,"_ Hotaru commanded.

With the ease of a shinobi Amaya leapt from the ground to the near by roof top without slowing. Her eyes set on the giant building to the back, within she knew she would find the Hokage.

"_ANBU closing in, drop to the street again … now!"_

Amaya fell to the ground, landing lightly and not stopping her pace. There were few if anyone humans that could keep up with her. Just then something green flashed off to her left. A quick side step saved her from the flying kick of a man that just appeared.

"I'm sorry young lady but the Konoha's Prideful Green Beast cannot let you go any further."

"_We don't have time for this, run Amaya!"_

Amaya dodged around Gai and continued her race, she was surprised to see him fall instep beside her. She dodged another attack but knew there was no way she could compete with any of the shinobi one on one, her only defense was her speed.

"Hotaru!"

The energy within her body exploded and her surroundings became a blur, she slightly released her hold on her soul and let Hotaru direct her steps. A moment later she jumped up on the ledge outside the Hokage's office and jumped inside the open window.

Her chakra was border-line out of control and she trembled slightly trying to reel it in as she glanced over at the two women now standing at a large desk. "I've brought a message from Hatake Kakashi …"

She was cut off as dozen ANBU appeared and pinned her down, various weapons pointed at her vital parts.

"Hotaru help me," she whispered as she struggled to rein in the chakra.

The blonde woman that had been the room moved over and laid a hand on Amaya's forehead. "My name is Tsunade, the 5th Hokage" she said.

"Forgive my intrusion ma'am; I was only doing as Kakashi asked." The chakra unleashed dissipated and a moment later vanished all together as it and the fox spirit within went into hiding, away from the probing medical powers of the Fifth.

"Curious …" Tsunade said letting her hand fall. "Some how I doubt he ordered you to invade Konoha, you could have just given the message to the two guards at the gate and had them bring it or you here."

Amaya was pulled roughly to her feet. "Nay, he said the hands of the Fifth. The scroll is tucked into my waistband."

An ANBU removed the scroll and after glancing at it for traps hand it to the Hokage who broke the seal. "And where is Kakashi at this time?"

"Fighting for his life with about a dozen shinobi from Kusagakure on the outskirts of your forest," was the reply.

Tsunade looked up shocked and then gave a quick nod. The room emptied except for one ANBU who still had his arm around Amaya's throat and kunai against her heart.

"What is your name?" Tsunade said as she sat down behind the desk.

"I'm an ally of Kakashi's and friend to the Hidden Leaf," Amaya replied.

"So you say, but forgive me if I don't just hand you the keys to the city, trying time for Konoha … what … is … your … name?"

Amaya shrugged her shoulders. "My name is Amaya; I'm the daughter of Daiki the Fox Summoner."

If the news surprised her, it didn't show up on her face. "And how long have you and Hatake Kakashi been _allies_?"

"We crossed paths again as he was wrapping up his latest mission, I chose to travel with him for a short period of time when the Kusagakure shinobi attacked. He stayed behind so I could make my escape, and no I didn't know about the scroll until he gave it to me."

"When you arrived, Amaya, you had an alarming amount of chakra, I've only seen something like it once in my life, but now I can't detect even the smallest amount beyond that all living creatures have … care to explain that?"

"I've always had a … healthy amount of chakra, but since I never received formal training I've always thought it best to keep it bottled up. However, when I'm excited it can get sort of … um … out of control."

"No formal training, but you managed to elude the best Hidden Leaf has," Tsunade frowned. "Take her away to a holding cell, use techniques you would for a Class A shinobi …"

"I am no threat to this village; my father gave his life for it as would I!" Amaya cried as the ANBU forcibly led her toward the door.

"I'm sorry, until I speak to Kakashi that is my decision and if you truly are loyal to this village you will do what the Hokage tells you." Tsunade's eyes flashed.

Amaya bowed her head. "Yes ma'am."

**Chapter Eleven**

The mist lifted and Kakashi took a final look around, he counted nineteen bodies, which meant he was still missing one. He sensed the approach of the squad from Konoha a moment before Gai dropped down beside him.

Covering his Sharingan he turned and faced the dynamic shinobi. "There were twenty; one of them must have gotten away."

Gai nodded. "We'll handle it; you should head back to the village. I'm afraid the young lady you sent hasn't been welcomed with open arms. She's quite a remarkable woman, even out ran me."

Kakashi could have sworn the other man pouted for a moment. "Remarkable is one word for her, trouble and misfortune are a couple more." With a slight salute Kakashi took back to the trees and raced toward Konoha.

Soon the gates of the village appeared and he dropped down waving to the two guards Hagane Kotetsu and Kamizuki Izumo.

"The Fifth wants to see you right away," Izumo said.

"I figured she would," Kakashi said speeding his gait up slightly. A few moments later he slid into the window of Tsunade's office, sitting leisurely on the sill while she spoke to another. She acknowledged Kakashi with a slight nod and motioned him to join them.

"We're busy trying to translate the scroll you sent us, was it really Kusagakure shinobi that attacked you?"

"Yes, they were also involved in the last mission, thanks again for the aid you sent. I left Kiba, Hinata and Shino at the village until it was secure. If we could spare her I'd suggest sending Kurenai to back up her team."

Tsunade nodded. "I'll see what we can do. Kakashi, how did the scroll end up in the hands of Amaya? Not be rude but do you always hand vital information off to someone you've only met once before?"

"I trust her with my life, I was unsure even I would be successful against that many foes, decided it would be best to make sure the scroll reached your hands and Amaya had the skill to make sure it did."

"Trust her with your life?" Tsunade raised an eyebrow. "That is a very strong oath for a woman you've only just met."

"Is that what Amaya told you?" Kakashi said.

"Is she lying?" Fire flared in the Hokage's eyes.

"Yes … no … it's complicated." Kakashi sighed. "I did meet up with her toward the end of my last mission. She's a extraordinary woman …"

"So she's a romantic interest of yours then?" Tsunade said. "If she sleeps with you, she must be a trusted ally?"

Kakashi dipped his head slightly, keeping his face expressionless. "I have no doubt she is loyal to the village."

"When she arrived she was practically spilling over with chakra. I've only seen the likes in one other person, Naruto. Though, when I touched her it all but disappeared as if it had never been there at all. Can you explain that?"

"No," Kakashi said, adverting his gaze. If the Fifth found out the truth Hotaru's life could be forfeited and with it, the girl who's heart beat as one.

"Hatake Kakashi, you are one of my most trusted Shinobi …"

"Then trust me when I say Amaya is an ally of Konoha." Kakashi said meeting his Hokage's gaze.

Tsunade sighed and gestured for him to follow her. They left the building and after a short hike came to the building that the ANBU used for interrogating prisoners. Entering the dim structure they walked over to one of the small holding cells. Two masked shinobi stood guard, there were various tags sealing the door.

Looking through the small barred window he could see Amaya kneeling on the cement floor, her hands eagle spread above her in shackles, held apart to stop her from making seals. Her ankles and neck were also shackled. She had been stripped and was only wearing a simple gown that barely covered her.

She looked up and smiled when she saw him. "Kakashi-kun, I knew you would be okay! I delivered the scroll just like you asked of me." She pulled slightly on the chains that held her bound. "I'm sorry about this; afraid I got a little zealous in my desire to carry out your orders."

Kakashi smiled behind his mask as the ANBU took down the tags. "You did well, Amaya. I'm sorry that you ended up like this."

Amaya hung her head. "It's okay, Kakashi. I lost control …"

"Control of what?" Tsunade asked entering the small cell and taking the offered key started undoing the chains.

"My chakra, but you saw that." Amaya said softly, rubbing her now free wrists.

Kakashi could see welts left behind by the chains. Tsunade placed her hand over the sores and when she removed it a moment later they were gone. She then helped the younger woman to her feet, slipping off her green robe and draping it over Amaya's shoulders.

"There is much more that needs to be discussed but it doesn't take my medical expertise to see you are both exhausted. Kakashi I leave her in your care, I expect both of you in my office first thing tomorrow. The threat from Kusagakure is gone for now, I'll make sure to increase our patrols outside the city gates."

Kakashi bowed his head and whispered his thanks. Without asking he picked Amaya up in his arms and seemly vanished. A few moments later he stood on the ledge outside the window to his small apartment.

"Kakashi, there has to be an inn with a spare room for me." Amaya said.

"Tomorrow, tonight you can sleep on my bed. I'll crash on the floor and we can figure out your lodging long term after that." He said opening the window and setting her inside.

She moved over to his bed and sat down. Kakashi entered through the window and left it open, letting the cool air come in. Sitting on the corner of the bed he took off his shoes and set them by the door. Next he took off his vest, followed by his heavier long sleeve shirt, leaving the sleeveless black shirt and his pants on. He then looked through his pack and took out his bed roll.

"Think I could take a quick shower?" Amaya asked.

"Tomorrow, I'll see what I can do … we should just rest as the Hokage suggested."

Amaya slipped out of the Hokage's robe and draped it across the only chair in the room. "Not sleeping in your boxer's tonight?" she asked, her cheeks flushing slightly.

"Um … no," Kakashi said.

"Why not? I've seen them before." Amaya said as she slipped under the blanket on his bed and propped her head up on her bent arm, facing him.

"Please, don't remind me." Kakashi said as he laid down on his makeshift bed. He pulled out a small book as he did.

"You're reading it again? What does that make your tenth time? You do know there are other books out there?" Amaya said, yawning.

"Yeah but few have the same details and plot twists as this one," Kakashi said.

Amaya smiled and laid her head down on her arm watching him though half closed eyes. He hadn't reached the end of the chapter before her breathing told him she'd fall asleep.

After confirming it, he pulled off his shirt leaving on just his mask and pants before settling back on the bed. He glanced over at the woman sleeping on his bed. "And here I thought life would be boring without, Naruto around."


End file.
